Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn
by Kirsh
Summary: Sora had never expected his life to repeat history, but it did. Now, the boy he 'chose' to become a Keyblade wielder goes on an adventure of his own, meeting and making new friends, facing an enemy that he isn't sure he can defeat, and above all, trying to survive. Kaoru and his friends must fight, as all the Keyblade's chosen must, to maintain the balance between Light and Dark.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

 _Ten Years Ago_

Sora stepped out of the portal with Riku right behind him. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sudden bright light and waited for his eyes to adjust. Riku did the same, though he was far quicker in touching the bracer on his left arm than Sora, allowing the armor encasing his body to fade away. Giving the silver-haired young man a searching look, Sora did the same, touching the bracer on his right arm to dispel his armor. He knew from experience that walking around in the armor would only draw questions from people who didn't understand. These days, not many people understood - or remembered - the fight that had been quietly (or maybe not so quietly, in some cases) taking place right under their noses.

Riku gave him a bright smile for all its reservedness and Sora grinned back. He returned his gaze to the huge skyscrapers and smaller trees, studying the way the wide green leaves danced in the wind that blew. Clouds scudded by, thick and puffy, dotting the blue sky above the trees and the skyscrapers like a herd of sheep.

"It's been a while, huh?" Sora quipped. "Since we've seen a world so advanced."

Riku swiped a lock of silver hair back behind his ear and nodded. "Yeah. But it's to be expected. There are a thousand or more worlds out there, some we haven't even discovered yet." They shared a look, then glanced at the bracers on their arms. As if attempting to draw the conversation away from where they both knew it was heading, Riku asked, "What's this one called?"

Sora patted his coat pocket and removed a small notebook. Since Jiminy Cricket no longer traveled with them, he'd gotten into the habit of recording information himself, and Jiminy had thoughtfully provided him with a notebook that recorded the world's name the moment the two stepped foot on it. He tilted his head from side to side, watching the magic ink slowly scrawl across the top of the page, marking a new entry. "Um... Paradise City. Go figure."

Riku chuckled. "Let's go, Sora. We'll check this place out, and if we don't find anything, we can head back."

"Not without picking up a few souvenirs. The last time we went home without anything to give, Kairi nearly dented my head. And Aerith gave me that sad puppy look. You know that sad puppy look."

Riku grimaced. He knew that sad puppy look well. "Kairi gets pissed when she's not allowed to come with us, doesn't she?"

Sora nodded, rubbing the side of his head as if to alleviate an ache. "She gets to come with us more often than not, but you know how Aqua gets if we end up going to a new world none of us have ever been to before."

"I guess we'll have to bring back something nice. For all of them." Riku said lowly, already imagining how their welcome would go if they didn't come back laden with gifts.

Sora's laugh was slightly strained. "Let's not go overboard. If we don't find anything here, our munny supply is going to be extremely limited."

Riku smirked at his best friend - his boyfriend, he had to remind himself once again, only because it didn't feel quite real, even after all this time - and led the way into Paradise City.

The streets were filled with people, moving up one side and down the other. Shops littered the street they were on, from frozen yogurt creameries to shops displaying the latest fashion trend. Sora watched everything and everyone in fascination, though he made sure not to be caught staring too long. Tourists people understood. They accepted the fact that there were other worlds, and people often traveled between them in gummi ships. Cid Highwind made a killing doing that, transporting people and goods to other worlds for a nominal fee. Sora wondered what Cid was doing now, since he and Riku had taken a Dark Path from Radiant Garden to Paradise City instead of doing the smart thing and waiting for a ride. Sora focused on his boyfriend's back as that thought passed through his mind. Riku had felt fairly confident of his ability to open a Dark Path and maintain it while they traveled, which was why Sora had given in and allowed him to use his powers of Darkness. Their method of travel had been a part of why Kairi couldn't go with them this time - a Princess of Heart, even one who wielded a Keyblade, was a walking target in the World Between Worlds - and Sora hadn't wanted to put his best friend in danger needlessly.

He kept close to Riku, just a half-step behind and to the silver-haired man's left. He wasn't afraid of getting lost; he doubted he could lose sight of the only naturally silver-haired man in the entire city. Besides that, he and Riku were connected to each other, not just by their feelings for each other, but because they were opposites. Riku was Darkness where Sora was Light. The two couldn't exist without each other, like the sun and the moon. No matter how far apart they became now, they would always inexplicably know exactly where the other was. Sora seemed to have the same sixth sense for Kairi's presence, but only if she was on the same world as he was.

Sora stopped walking abruptly. Riku went a few feet more before he realized Sora was no longer with him and had to backtrack. He found the brunette staring at a pair of blue plastic headphones displayed in a front window case, Sora's head cocked to one side. The headphones were adjustable, with large earmuffs that would cover the ear entirely. A small hole was indented into the left one, no doubt to hold the wireless transmitter that would feed music into the device. Riku gave Sora a sidelong glance. Sora looked back at him via their reflections, a sheepish look on his face.

"If you want them, go ahead and get them." Riku said, finally smiling. His smile grew wider as Sora's sheepish look bloomed into a wild grin. "I just don't know when you'll get to use them."

"I'm sure I'll have a use for them. I have to drown out Yuffie somehow."

Riku laughed and followed Sora into the store. Twenty minutes later, they emerged with Sora already tearing into the box that held his headphones. He pulled them out and set them around his neck, looking at Riku with a wide grin. The Keyblade Master of Darkness just shook his head and grinned. Then they resumed walking down the street, pausing long enough for Sora to ditch his trash in a trashcan. They explored the city for the better part of an hour, listening to the honking of horns and snippets of conversations, trying to pick up on any rumor or bit of information without trying to be too obvious about it. Eventually, they agreed to separate in order to search the rest of the city rather than just the entirety of the apparent market street, promising to meet up in the park that seemed to dominate the center of the city.

Sora paused in the crowd waiting for the lights to change and make it okay for people to cross the street. He looked up at the giant skyscrapers and the blue sky beyond, and pretended to be actually using his new headphones instead of eavesdropping on the people around him. He hoped Riku was having better luck, because he heard nothing worth writing home about, nor did he see anything that made him feel the need to call his Keyblade to hand.

As he started across the street, intending to go to the park to wait for Riku, he suddenly changed direction, like his feet had decided to ignore his mind's intent. He didn't know why, but he felt suddenly drawn in that direction. It wasn't a bad feeling - he'd had feelings like this before, just suddenly understanding he needed to be somewhere without exactly knowing why until he got there - but it was one of those feelings where he knew he ought to warn Riku, just in case. He tapped the bracer on his wrist, but instead of activating the hologram phone feature, he just tapped out a code on the holographic keypad. Riku would understand, and would follow.

Sora gradually left the city behind and started descending into another park. He hadn't realized there was another park in the city, and soon saw why. This park was more dilapidated than the one in the center of the city. The trees here had been left to grow wild and rampant, the grasses tall and the paths rocky and almost overground. It reminded him of Destiny Islands, how everyone lived on the big island, but the kids always went to play on the smaller one, just a boat ride away from home. Sora passed through the grasses that came to his waist, plowing a path through them. He pulled his headphones down around his neck - and froze.

He felt them before he heard them, and he whipped around, Keyblade materializing in hand. The first Heartless dissipated against the Keyblade before it even realized the weapon was heading its way. The second and third Heartless met the same fate as the first, but the fourth and fifth - and the rest of the group, about thirty strong - now knew that Sora was dangerous.

Sora laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "I guess I now know why this place is abandoned."

The Heartless chittered to one another and as one, attacked. The rhythm of battle came easy to Sora, ducking and dodging and whirling around, his Keyblade flashing as it tore through the inky black bodies of his enemies. Being lesser Heartless, the ambush group didn't last long against Sora, and he was soon dispatching the last one without so much as a blink. He felt Riku moving closer at a quick speed. He knew he should wait for Riku to reach him, but Sora started moving again, following the invisible path as the feeling that had led him here in the first place grew stronger. He didn't realize he was running until he couldn't get enough breath, and he leaped at the last second, avoiding the mace-like tail of an Emblem Behemoth, a bigger, nastier Heartless. As he tumbled through the air, Sora caught a glimpse of a blonde head lying motionless in a trampled patch of grass. A small hand rested by that blonde head, and beside that hand was a deflated soccer ball, punctured by spikes.

All of that information Sora saw in seconds, and he processed it quickly as he landed. Blonde head. Small hand. Child. Electric blue eyes narrowed and he charged the Emblem Behemoth, dancing under its tusked head to score a hit on its chin as he rolled between its legs. The monster bellowed, its massive feet stomping a path through the grass as it tried to turn to chase the Keyblade Master. Sora quickly crossed to the child, scooping him up with one arm as he turned to face the Emblem Behemoth and fired off a Firaga spell.

Sora spun to the side and presented his back as the Firaga spell hit a reflective shield and raced right back at him. He cried out in pain as the fire seared across his back, the force of the blow sending him crashing to the ground. He shielded the boy as best he could, skidding along the ground and fetching up hard against a tree trunk. Sora screwed his eyes shut as his body screamed at him for the abuse and for a minute, he couldn't move because of the pain. He was dimly aware of losing his grip on his Keyblade, and forced his eyes open to locate the weapon. There it was, laying just a few feet away. Sora struggled to move, but his skin cried out in protest. He figured he was pretty badly burned; Firaga spells were the highest level of fire magic, and Sora only carried around high level spells. He sought a Curaga spell, trying to heal himself quickly.

The Emblem Behemoth roared, its massive head swinging to face Sora and the boy. Its piggish yellow eyes burned as it focused on the prone Keyblade Master. Sora stared back at it, gritting his teeth, trying to push himself up. The boy was faster.

"No!" Sora cried out, or tried to, as the boy reached for Sora's Keyblade.

The little boy was only four at the most, with unruly blonde hair that came away from his head in gentle fly-away strands, as if he were charged with electricity. He wore overalls and sandals. As he stood there like a sentinel, like a guardian, Sora caught a glimpse of the boy's face and saw sapphire blue eyes staring up at the monster before them with courage lightly tinged with fear. The little boy gripped the hilt of Sora's Keyblade tightly, but he couldn't lift it. It was too heavy for a four-year-old to wield.

It hit Sora then, in the scant seconds it took to get to his feet and reach the boy, exactly why he had been drawn here, and exactly who this boy was - who the boy would be - to him.

A bright burst of light escaped the kid as Sora touched him and the Keyblade at the same time, blinding all three of them. The Emblem Behemoth roared and swung its head from side to side, ripping up trees with its massive tusks, trampling bushes with its massive feet. Even blinded, Sora wrested his Keyblade from the boy's hands and managed to retreat.

Riku's Way to Dawn Keyblade ripped through the Emblem Behemoth's hide easily, breaking the reflective shield the beast had around itself. Aquamarine eyes burning, Riku launched into a series of attacks that had the power of Darkness behind them, stepping quick and fast as the Behemoth tried to turn itself to face the newest threat.

"Sora!" Riku bellowed.

"Gimme a second!" Sora yelled back, finally able to see again. He ducked behind a massive tree and set the boy down, holding him still with a hand on his shoulder. Electric blue met sapphire, and Sora smiled brightly. "Hey, there. So, I need you to stay right here, okay?"

The boy looked at him but said nothing. He hesitantly nodded.

"Don't go anywhere, okay?" Sora started to move off, but paused. He took hold of his headphones, amazed they hadn't gotten burned or broken in the fight, and pulled them off. He draped them around the boy's neck, grinning at the comical sight of the too-large headphones around that small neck. "Hold onto those for me. I'll be back for them."

"Wait!" Sora paused at the boy's voice, looking back at the bright-eyed kid in askance. The boy was gripping his overalls tightly, those brave sapphire eyes focused on Sora's face. "That monster," the boy continued, "it has something in its chest. I think it's hurt."

Sora blinked. He smiled and reached to rub that electricity-charged blonde head. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it. Remember, you promised to wait right here!"

He saw the kid nod, but he was already moving back to Riku. His counterpart had already donned part of his armor, shielding his shoulders, chest, and legs from the Emblem Behemoth's attacks. Sora did the same as he rushed in, his Keyblade leading. He signaled to Riku, and the silver-haired man broke left, rushing around the Emblem Behemoth's left side. Sora unleashed a barrage of physical attacks, his two-handed style affording him the ability to hit harder than Riku's one-handed style. The barrage the two of them unleashed on the Heartless monster was more than most Heartless creatures could withstand, and this Behemoth showed no signs of dying soon. He caught a glimpse of Riku vaulting over the monster's back and saw the look on the other Keyblade Master's face. Sora was sure he wore a similar one.

He unleashed an Ars Arcanum on the monster's face. He guarded against the Emblem Behemoth's breath, which stank like rotten meat, and dropped low to the ground as the monster reared back on its hind legs. Sora then saw what the boy had been talking about and his eyes went wide.

There was a black metal rod sticking out of the monster's chest, where its heart would've been if it had one. The tip of the metal rod had some sort of antenna on it, with a small light that was steadily blinking. Sora cursed softly and called to Riku, "It's them! They've got control of this one!"

Riku's Keyblade hit a reflective shield and he bounced off it, landing lightly on his feet. The ground shook as the Emblem Behemoth landed on all fours. It roared, thrashing its head from side to side again. Riku hurried to Sora's side, his eyes tightening as he saw the burned clothes and freshly healed skin. He said nothing, but Sora saw the tendrils of darkness curling around his boyfriend's body. The tendrils solidified into black armor, a mimicry of the armor Terra used to wear. Riku put his hand on Sora's shoulder and pushed him back.

"I'll take care of this." Riku said. "Support me."

Sora cast a glance behind him at where the kid was supposed to be waiting. Then he looked at Riku and nodded. "Got it. Better make it quick. They could be close."

Riku was gone before Sora had finished the last syllable. He reappeared above the Emblem Behemoth, a dark bullet that sped down with Way to Dawn leading. He hit the Behemoth's reflective shield, and for a few heartbeats, the shield and Riku battled each other. Then the shield cracked, and Riku broke through, speeding down onto the monster's back. There was a burst of darkness as Way to Dawn pierced flesh and severed bone, and Riku leaped away as the monster roared, twisting to try and kill the Keyblade Master.

Sora felt his armor fully encase him and launched forward, his Keyblade striking solid mass. He spun away from a massive tusk, throwing a Curaga spell toward Riku as the silver-haired man took the brunt of a head-butt. Riku recovered quickly and ducked under the Emblem Behemoth's chin, striking for the Heartless's throat. Way to Dawn cut a deep line from the left side of the Behemoth's throat to the right, spraying more darkness into the air in an imitation of blood. Sora threw his Keyblade in a Strike Raid; the weapon glanced off the Emblem Behemoth's head and came back to Sora's hand, only to be thrown again. The Behemoth focused on Sora then, but as it made to charge, Sora's third throw caught the monster square in the nose. The Behemoth roared, rearing backwards in pain.

Riku dashed in then, straight at the Behemoth's chest. He jumped at the last second as the monster crashed down on all fours once more, and buried Way to Dawn in the Heartless's chest. The Emblem Behemoth roared again, thrashing from side to side in an effort to throw Riku off. Way to Dawn had bit too deep though, anchoring Riku to the Behemoth's flesh. With his feet braced against the monster's underside, Riku released Way to Dawn with one hand and reached for the metal rod. Sora saw him grasp it and then release his Keyblade so he swung just feet above the ground. Way to Dawn vanished almost immediately, safe in whatever space Keyblades waited until their masters called them. Riku gripped the rod with both hands then, swung himself up to brace his feet, and heaved with all of his strength.

The rod slid out by only a few inches.

"Riku!" Sora yelled in warning, dodging a smashing paw and rolling to one side to avoid being gored by a massive tusk. "Riku, hurry up!"

"Shut up!" Riku called back, heaving on the rod again. "Just get ready!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Sora caught movement. Just as he recognized the little boy - who he was going to give a lecture to about promises - so did the Emblem Behemoth. The great monster swung its massive head around to stare at the little blonde boy, slinging Riku violently to one side. The silver-haired Keyblade Master nearly lost his grip, but somehow managed to regain it and used the momentum of his backswing to add more strength to his heave. The rod slid out a few inches more, spraying Riku's armor with the black stuff that all Heartless seemed to be made of.

"I thought I told you to stay hidden!" Sora roared, rushing toward the four-year-old. The blonde boy looked at him with wide blue eyes, his mouth half open in shock.

Sora reached him at the same time the Behemoth charged with Riku dangling from its chest. Sora's hand closed on the boy's shoulder, pushing the kid behind him and readying his Keyblade to try and block the Behemoth. Riku twisted the rod and yanked as hard as he could. Sora felt a small hand cover his on the hilt of the Kingdom Key and again a bright light radiated out from the boy. On some instinct, Sora crouched and wrapped his free arm around the boy's shoulders, embracing him as they held onto their Keyblade together. The light radiating from the boy focused into the Keyblade and then, just like it used to do for the unlocked Keyholes, the light shot out of the tip toward Riku.

As if he sensed it coming, Riku let go of the metal rod and dropped to the ground, landing hard on his back. The light hit the end of the rod and spiraled upward, forming a sunburst against the Emblem Behemoth's chest. The giant Heartless reared back on its hind legs, roaring in pain. The light swirled around it like living vines of gold, and then suddenly the Emblem Behemoth exploded into black motes.

Riku rolled to his feet, his armor melting away once again into the bracer on his arm. He paused when he saw Sora and the kid, his eyes slightly wide as he suddenly understood what was happening. He slowly approached them as Sora rose, still keeping a hand on the boy's shoulder. The kid stared wide-eyed up at Riku, his mouth slightly agape in awe. Riku's aquamarine eyes flicked to Sora. "Is he...?"

"Looks like we'll be coming back in about ten years." Sora said, trying to smile but barely succeeding. The kid was still holding onto the Keyblade, his small fingers looking comical on the too-large hilt. Riku and Sora studied each other for a moment, before Sora turned to crouch in front of the kid. "What's your name?"

The boy's sapphire eyes flicked toward Riku, who stood silent behind Sora. Finally, the boy focused on Sora. "I'm Kaoru."

"I'm Sora, and that's Riku." Sora pointed to them each in turn. "Kaoru, you're too young to understand now, but one day, you'll remember this moment. This," Sora balanced his Kingdom Key between them horizontally, "is a Keyblade."

"It was heavy." Kaoru said. His fingers brushed against the Keyblade's hilt, but he didn't grasp it, and Sora didn't let go.

"Right now it is," Sora said gently, "but one day, it will no longer be hard for you to carry. The Keyblade will give you the strength to protect what's precious to you. Here, take it."

Slowly, with both hands, Kaoru grasped the Kingdom Key. When he was sure the boy had a good grip, Sora let go. Almost immediately, the Keyblade fell toward the ground. Kaoru staggered under its weight, but somehow managed not to fall over. The little boy grimaced slightly, his little arms straining under the weight of the weapon. Sora glanced back at Riku, who nodded.

"Kaoru," Sora said, gaining the boy's attention again, "you have the makings of a Keyblade Master. One day, you'll stand with me and Riku and another friend of ours as a Master. One day, you'll have the strength to move forward and fight. We won't see each other for a long time, so I'll tell you this: when you find yourself feeling lost and alone, the Keyblade will always lead you to where you're meant to go."

Kaoru's tiny hands clutched tighter to the Kingdom Key's hilt, then slowly his fingers uncurled as Sora reached to take the weapon back. He dismissed it and reached to set his hand on Kaoru's head. "We'll see each other again one day, Kaoru."

Riku had already turned away, and now Sora followed. Kaoru watched them go, eyes staring wide as the two men simply vanished into the shadowy underbrush of the trees. He took two steps forward to chase them, but when he reached the spot where Riku and Sora had been only minutes before, there was nothing. Kaoru looked around, trying to find them, and when he couldn't, he gripped the headphones still around his neck.

"Kaoru? Kaoru! Kaoru, where are you?"

He whipped around toward the voice and began running, grinning widely. "Mom! Mom, you won't believe what just happened!"


	2. Chapter 2

One - Paradise City

 _Ten Years Later - Present Day_

Kaoru gazed down at the old set of blue headphones in his lap, beat up and scuffed with ten years of wear and use. They had stopped working last year, but Kaoru couldn't bring himself to throw them away. No, these headphones were more than just a device to him; they represented a moment in his life that drastically changed him as a person. Even if no one had believed his story about the giant monster and the two men who had wielded powerful weapons called Keyblades, these headphones were proof that Kaoru hadn't been just dreaming. He pulled the headphones around his neck and settled them into their usual position, then tilted his head back and looked at the sky that cut through the giant skyscrapers above him.

Had it really been ten years since then? As he had grown up, he had sought answers about the monster he had seen then, about the Keyblades and the Keyblade Masters, but no one could help him. It was as if no one knew about the monsters or anything else. Eventually, Kaoru had stopped asking questions and had tried to live his life. But ever since he had turned fourteen two months ago, he had begun dreaming about his past, about Riku and Sora and the Keyblade and the monsters. The park had long been since paved over for a parking lot for a new office building, but nothing could remove Kaoru's memories.

Besides his customary blue headphones, Kaoru was dressed in black cargo pants and sneakers. His shirt was white and covered by a black, sleeveless hooded jacket. His right wrist had a tooled leather bracer clasped around it. His blonde hair still had the untamed, static-charged look, no matter how many times he brushed it. He had tried to look his best today, because today was a very special day. His fingers curled tighter around the object in his hand. Besides being the first day of his school's spring break, it was also-

"Kaoru! Kaoru!"

The boy looked up at the call of his name. Running toward him was a girl and another boy about his age. They were his best friends, Tae and Hiromu. Tae was a tall, slender girl dressed in a purple skirt and a white tank top. White sandals were on her feet and their straps wound up around her shins. Her brunette hair was pinned up in a bun at the top of her head, pinned there with two colored pieces of wood sticks. Her violet eyes were bright with laughter. Hiromu was taller than Kaoru and bigger-boned. He had a short black hair and blue eyes. He wore a green tank top, jeans, and sneakers, and had a chain dangling from his neck with the symbol of a lightning bolt etched into the pendant part of the chain.

Kaoru pushed away from the wall he was leaning against and jogged up to his friends. Tae flung her arms around his shoulders in a fierce hug. "It's so good to see you!" she gushed. "I can't believe you have to go to school halfway across the city!"

Kaoru returned the hug, smiling. "It's not so bad, Tae. It's summer break now, and all I have to do is catch the train."

Hiromu pushed Kaoru's shoulder. "She's been going on and on about you coming." He grinned widely. "I think she has a crush on you."

Tae glowered indignantly at Hiromu. "I do _not_ have a crush on Kaoru. We've known each other since third grade. He's like my brother."

Kaoru noted a flash of _something_ in Hiromu's eyes, but it was gone before he was sure. "She's like this all the time, Hiromu." Kaoru said. "If my mom hadn't gotten transferred across Paradise City, I'd be here full time."

Hiromu snorted. "Then she'd never shut up."

Kaoru rolled his eyes. Tae released him from her hug and stepped back with a grin. Kaoru returned it, a little wary. "Tae, I have-"

"Oh, Kaoru! The festival is here this summer!" Tae said, arms spreading wide. She grabbed his wrist and Hiromu's and started marching them away from the train station to the park. "They've got this new roller coaster, and there's supposed to be a concert tonight, too!"

Kaoru sighed. "Tae."

The girl looked back at him with a smile. "Hm?"

He held up his hand and opened it. Dangling from his fingers was a heart-shaped pendant. It came in three pieces, with the right and left sides detachable from the center piece. Each piece held in its center a small crystal that reflected the light as it was caught. "Happy birthday."

Tae's violet eyes grew large as she took in the piece of jewelry. Her fingers wrapped around it so gently and she took it from him, cradling it in her palm. "Oh, Kaoru. It's beautiful." She pulled the pendant over her head and settled it against her heart. "Did you make this one?"

Hiromu leaned in closer to get a better look. Kaoru nodded. "Yeah. And, look. This one comes in three pieces, so you can give a piece to two people you care about. That way, you'll always be able to find them, no matter where they are."

Tae beamed at Kaoru and threw her arms around him in a hug. "I don't need to do that! You, me, and Hiromu will always be together!"

Kaoru smiled and returned her hug. Despite the warmth of the day, Kaoru shivered as he held on to her. Suddenly, he wanted to tell her about the dreams he'd been having lately, the ones where the world was consumed by darkness, the ones where he was in the middle of a war wearing white plate armor and fighting against something he couldn't see, that he couldn't defeat. But he didn't say anything. He let her go and followed Hiromu as Tae led the way to the festival. Perhaps it was an instinct left over from when he had been small - no one had believed his stories about Sora and Riku and the giant monster then, and no one was likely to believe him now. Better to stay quiet than look like a fool.

 _The door has been opened._

Kaoru paused and placed a hand against his heart. It was hammering in his chest, like an injured bird. He'd felt this sort of anxiety before, when he had been small and in the minutes he had held the Keyblade on his own for the first time. Hiromu and Tae didn't notice the movement, nor did they notice that he had stopped walking, and it was obvious they hadn't heard the whisper of the voice by the way they kept walking ahead, laughing.

 _What door?_ Kaoru asked, afraid to say the words out loud.

 _The door has been opened._

Kaoru looked around, as if the voice he was hearing was coming from outside of him. He knew it wasn't. _Who are you?_

 _The door has been opened._

"Kaoru!" Tae called. "Come on! If we don't hurry, we won't be able to get tickets to the concert!"

"Coming!" Kaoru yelled back. He pushed the growing anxiety down and ran to catch up to his friends. His memory, though, went back to that summer day ten years ago, and his right hand clenched around an invisible hilt. He found himself wishing that Sora and Riku were here right now. They would know what to do. They would know exactly what 'the door' was.

Still, Kaoru swore he would protect his friends, no matter what. Door or no door - whatever that meant, and he was sure he was going to find out - he would make sure that he, Hiromu, and Tae were never separated.

The festival was in full swing when the three of them managed to get through the gate and onto the grounds. The fair ground had been set up in one of Paradise City's largest parks, where there was enough green grass and shady trees to provide comfort to people who were tired of standing in the sun. It was incredibly noisy, and there were all sorts of smells in the air. People were everywhere, laughing and shouting, carrying prizes or food or each other. Tae clasped Kaoru's hand with a wide grin on her face. She pulled on his hand. "Come on! To the roller coaster!"

Hiromu laughed. "Relax, Tae. It's not like the coaster is going anywhere."

Tae snorted. "Well, I don't want to wait for hours in a long line!"

"I'm sure there's a long line already, Tae." Kaoru said. She squeezed his hand to the point of pain and glowered up at him. Kaoru winced. "Just slow down. That's all I'm asking."

Tae released a dramatic sigh. "Fine. But let's _try_ to hurry?" She took off at a light jog, pulling Kaoru behind her. He shot Hiromu an apologetic look and caught the look in his friend's eyes a second before the other boy buried the emotion and smirked, as if to say "it's okay". Kaoru had seen that kind of look before, on the faces of kids in his school. It was called jealousy. Kaoru wondered why Hiromu was feeling jealous. Was it because Tae was holding on to him and not Hiromu? He knew Hiromu had a crush on Tae, and that she was completely oblivious to it. She was completely oblivious to most advances, Kaoru remembered, not because Tae wasn't interested, but because she was usually distracted by something. She had always been like that, like she could hear and see things other people couldn't. She had been the only one who had believed him about Sora and Riku and the monsters, which was why he had debated with himself about telling her about his dreams. He'd kept quiet because it was her birthday, and he didn't want to ruin it.

But he decided he ought to mention to her Hiromu's feelings for her, mostly because he didn't want Hiromu getting the wrong idea about him and Tae, and mostly because he didn't want to lose his best male friend because of a misunderstanding.

 _Are you prepared?_

Tae released his hand, laughing brightly. Kaoru came to a halt as he heard the voice again. Once more, it had come from within him, repeating the line that he had been hearing in his dreams. That voice had been one of many, unrecognizable in the myriad of whispers that had been present. He noticed Hiromu pass him and catch up with Tae, saw people walking by with big grins and laughter in their eyes. So many people, but for some reason, Kaoru felt utterly and completely alone. He pressed his hand to his heart.

 _Sora!_ Kaoru cried out silently, feeling a sudden cold wave of fear. _Sora! Where are you?!_

No answer. He hadn't really been expecting one.

"Kaoru!" Tae called, her voice tinged with worry. "Kaoru, are you okay?"

Kaoru looked up at Tae, who flashed him a brilliant, if concerned, smile. Hiromu was beside her, his hand closed around her wrist, as if he'd attempted to hold her hand but Tae hadn't let him. Kaoru took a step forward, then another, and another, until he was all but running for his friends.

"I'm fine." He said when he reached them. It was clear Tae didn't believe him, but the way her eyes slowly shifted to Hiromu indicated that she wasn't quite sure she wanted him to be there when she asked Kaoru what was going on. "It's nothing."

"You've been acting really weird today," Hiromu commented, his expression one of a concerned friend, but there was a note to his voice that indicated to Kaoru he wasn't _that_ concerned.

"It's nothing." Kaoru said. He met Tae's gaze and touched his headphones. Her lips thinned into a line as she got the message. She turned to look at Hiromu and Kaoru wondered if she was going to ask him to give them a few minutes alone.

 _They've come._

Kaoru tensed unexpectedly. His heart was starting to beat hard and anxiety rolled through him. The feeling was so familiar and so incredible that, for a moment, Kaoru felt like he was four again.

Someone screamed, a real terrified scream.

He whipped around in time to see something inky and black squirming up from the ground toward them. Yellow eyes rolled out of the pool of pure darkness seconds before the thing erupted from the ground toward them.

 _Heartless._ Kaoru stood frozen, staring at the creature leaping toward him. _The Heartless have come._


	3. Chapter 3

Two - Paradise City

Tae's shrill scream broke Kaoru out of his stillness. He dodged left just before the Heartless Shadow would've landed on his face and started trying to chew its way to his heart. The Shadow hit the ground, bounced, cocked its head at him, and then focused on Tae. Its butter yellow eyes glowed bright for a second and it coiled itself up to leap again. Tae cried out as the creature launched itself toward her, turning to try and dodge it. Hiromu stepped between her and the Heartless, arms raised as if he could block it, maybe even knock it away.

Kaoru jumped toward them and swung his right hand, hoping that maybe the sneak attack from behind would keep Hiromu from being bitten.

Bright, blinding light erupted around his closed fist and shattered the Heartless Shadow into mere motes. Kaoru instinctively turned left, stabbing behind him with the light. Two more Shadows burst into motes. He spun, putting himself between more of the Heartless and his friends.

 _Heartless are here!_ Kaoru thought frantically, hearing more screams as more Heartless attacked. _Why? Why are there Heartless here?_ There hadn't been any Heartless in Paradise City since that day ten years ago, and even then, no one had really believed Kaoru that the abandoned park had been destroyed by the giant Heartless and two young men wielding Keyblades. _But if Sora and Riku had come here, wouldn't they have protected Paradise City when they left? Wouldn't they have locked the city and kept Heartless from coming in? Could they do that?_ Something tickled his memory, something that he could barely remember. Something about that monster ten years ago. Kaoru could almost remember it-

"K-Kaoru?"

Gone. The memory was gone.

He turned to look at Tae, trying to figure out why her voice was so shaky. She was afraid, he could see that, but she wasn't pointing at more Heartless. She was pointing at his right hand. He looked down.

 _One day, you'll stand with me and Riku and another friend of ours as a Master. One day, you'll have the strength to move forward and fight. We won't see each other for a long time, so I'll tell you this: when you find yourself feeling lost and alone, the Keyblade will always lead you to where you're meant to go._

Sora's voice from a lifetime ago.

A Keyblade. _His_ Keyblade.

It didn't look like Sora's or Riku's. Kaoru's was a pearl-white shot through with turquoise lines. The blade was as long as his arm from shoulder to fingertip and was shaped like a pipe. The tip was tapered, with three prongs, like an actual key, and the hilt had a half guard that covered his wrist and protected his fingers. It was light in his hand, an extension of himself.

 _Born of your heart, it is your light and desire to protect others. Its name is Guardian._

Suddenly, Kaoru wasn't afraid anymore. His heart calmed; the anxiety was still there, but it was different. He felt as though he had a heightened sense of his surroundings, as if he could move according to instinct rather than panic. Guardian gave him strength, and he knew exactly how to use it, even though he had never really fought before.

"Hiromu," Kaoru said softly. Around them, people were running in panic, screaming about the Heartless. Some were lucky and managed to escape the Shadows; others fell, victims of the Heartless or simply in the way of people consumed by panic. "Take Tae somewhere safe."

"Right." Hiromu pulled on Tae's wrist. "Let's go!"

"No!" Tae snapped, yanking her wrist from his grip. "I'm staying! Kaoru has a Keyblade! He can protect us!" She met Kaoru's gaze unflinchingly. "I believed you then, and I believe you now. I'm not running away. I may not be able to fight like Riku and Sora, but I'm not gonna leave you alone."

"Tae, you aren't safe here. Neither is Hiromu." Kaoru protested.

"Neither are you! You told me how Sora got hurt, and _he_ was a Keyblade Master. You just got your Keyblade!"

"What difference-"

"I'm staying." Tae growled. Kaoru looked into her eyes and realized there would be no convincing Tae otherwise. Even Hiromu, who before had looked ready to bolt, was now determined to stand his ground.

"Fine." Kaoru said at last. "But you stay close, and you do what I tell you."

Tae nodded sharply. "Fine."

"I mean it, Tae. I _will_ ask Hiromu to throw you over his shoulder and get you out of here. And he'll do it, too."

Hiromu met Tae's gaze and nodded. "I will."

Tae turned back to look at Kaoru. There was something lurking there in her eyes, something dangerous. Her fists clenched into tight balls. For a minute, Kaoru could've sworn she was glowing with bright, pure white light, devoid of any darkness. His hand tightened around Guardian's hilt. "We have to find somewhere safe to hide." Kaoru said at last. "Come on."

He led the way, Guardian flashing as his body moved in ways he hadn't known it could. Kaoru had never learned to fight. He had never before - save for that summer day when he was four - had touched a weapon before Guardian. His mother had tried to sign him up for self-defense classes when the bullying at school became too much, but Kaoru hadn't wanted to go, so she had given up. Eventually, the bullies at school had given up too. And yet, Kaoru simply _knew_ which foot to lead with when dodging the Shadows leaping toward him, how to turn his body to give Guardian the most power when he swung, or when he stabbed behind him to stop a back attack, or when he thrust the Keyblade forward to stop a puddle of darkness from fully forming into a Shadow.

People slowly began to realize that Kaoru was fighting the Heartless. They also began to realize that the Heartless Shadows hesitated slightly before engaging him. They began to follow him, Hiromu, and Tae, which made Kaoru's job slightly harder because, as the group grew, so did the frequency of Heartless attacks. Kaoru couldn't be everywhere at once, and he was already growing tired. He desperately wished that Sora and Riku where here, because then everything would be so much easier. Sora and Riku could use magic in addition to their Keyblades. Kaoru wished he could use magic, too.

 _It's too late._ came Kaoru's inner voice again, sounding mournful. _It's too late._

 _Too late?_ Kaoru asked, desperate. _Too late for what?_

"Kaoru! Look out!" Hiromu yelled.

He hadn't been paying attention and had let Guardian drop slightly. The closest Heartless Shadow took it as a sign for weakness, and all of its hesitancy and fear suddenly vanished. It leaped fast, aiming for Kaoru's face or chest - he couldn't really tell which, and either place was a dangerous place for a Heartless Shadow to be on a human - and Kaoru knew he couldn't get Guardian across in time to stop the attack. He forced his tired legs to buckle at the knee instead of lock, making Kaoru drop to the ground. As he did so, he twisted Guardian so the blade collided with the Heartless, destroying it. But he crashed hard on his hands and knees, panting harshly. Guardian shimmered - then vanished.

Tae was beside him instantly, holding onto his shoulders. She was trying to get him to stand, but he was so tired. He wanted to tell her this, but he couldn't get his voice to work. She was glowing brightly again with that pure, white light. The Heartless Shadows seemed to notice that too, because they became more and more restless, their voices rising in terrible chorus. The people surrounding Kaoru, Tae, and Hiromu stared at Kaoru and the Heartless, and Kaoru thought he heard Hiromu arguing with someone that Kaoru was _tired_ and _no, he can't summon his Keyblade when he's tired_ and _why don't_ you _do something, then_ and he somehow managed to grip Tae's wrist. She gripped him back, as if her touch alone could give him strength.

"The door's been opened," Tae whispered suddenly, her voice sounding strange. Her grip became tighter on Kaoru. "The door's been opened!"

Kaoru fought to get his exhausted brain to work. "Tae, what are you talking about? What door?" Then it registered what she was saying. _The door has been opened._ Tae was repeating the same words, her eyes screwing shut as the light she glowed with began to grow brighter and brighter. "Tae? Tae!"

"The door has been opened! The Heartless are devouring the world's heart!" Tae screamed, or at least Kaoru thought she screamed it. Everything surrounding him was suddenly so loud, he wasn't sure he could hear anything. He reached for her-

-the world exploded.


	4. Chapter 4

Three - Traverse Town

Kaoru woke slowly.

He was lying on his back on something hard. It felt like cobblestone. His body hurt something fierce, but since he could wiggle all of his fingers and toes, he didn't think anything was broken. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he realized he was staring up at a velvet-black sky pinpricked by tiny white and blue sparkling lights. It was nighttime. Had he really been asleep for so long?

Then his memory came flooding back in a rush. Kaoru sat up fast, so fast that his head began pounding something fierce. He curled up, resting his forehead on his knees and squeezed his eyes shut.

He had grown so tired that he couldn't keep Guardian with him. The Keyblade had vanished when his strength had finally given out, leaving him, Tae, Hiromu, and everyone else who had followed him defenseless. He'd collapsed, and Tae had tried to help him. Then she had started screaming about the door being open, and how the Heartless were devouring the heart of the world, the heart of Paradise City, and then...

Then Paradise City ceased to exist.

It was sudden, like a bright flash of lightning just before a loud clap of thunder. He could remember Tae glowing brightly, and could remember that no one but him seemed to notice that it was happening. She had been clutching to him when Paradise City exploded. He had been clutching to her. Kaoru forced his eyes open to look around.

He was alone.

"Tae?" Kaoru called, once he managed to get his voice to work. "Hiromu?"

No answer.

Kaoru struggled to his feet, wobbling a little bit. He still felt weak, almost unbalanced. He finally realized he was in an alley between two buildings, that the light was coming from lamp-posts not sunshine, and that he certainly was completely alone in an alien place. He took a few tentative steps, then, using one of the buildings as support, propelled himself out of the alley. He stepped out into a wide courtyard. Darkened buildings dotted the courtyard and a set of stairs led up into another courtyard where there were more buildings, also darkened. A great gate took up one end of the courtyard he was in, closed tightly against whatever was out there. A huge wall surrounded the town, high enough to keep things out - and keep things in.

No one was around. The place was completely silent. Kaoru wondered if all the people had gone home for the night, or if they knew a stranger was here and were hiding. It was possible. Everyone hesitated when they were met by an unfamiliar face. Kaoru took a few more steps forward until he was in the center of the square.

 _I don't know where I am. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Tae and Hiromu are gone. I don't think they're dead._ Kaoru tilted his head back and looked toward the sky. Thousands of tiny blue and white lights twinkled back at him. Suddenly, one of the stars flared bright then extinguished. Kaoru felt his heart begin to pound. Had Paradise City vanished like that? Had Paradise City been a star in some other world's sky that just suddenly flared bright and then disappeared?

His eyes stung. He felt tears welling and couldn't stop them from falling. Kaoru stared at the sky and cried, the feelings of exhaustion, fear, and loneliness too much for him to just push away like he had always done before. It had been easy, because he knew that his friends were always a phone call or a train ride away. Now, though, he didn't know where they were. He didn't know if they were okay. He was alone.

 _Sora, you said that we'd meet again. How will you find me if my world is gone?_ Kaoru stumbled toward the stairs and sat heavily, wrapping his arms around his chest and leaning over to brace his forehead on his knees. _How can I find Tae and Hiromu? They have to be alive. I was holding onto Tae when our world died. Why isn't she with me?_

Too much to think about. He was tired, upset, lost. The town he was in was so quiet, it felt as if he was the only one there. Kaoru lifted his head and used his hoodie to dry his eyes. As he did so, he noticed that he still had his headphones, the headphones Sora had given to him ten years ago. The right side earmuff, which was the side that had been closest to Tae, had a scorch mark, as if it had been burned by the light Tae had given off. Kaoru pulled his headphones off to study them, running his fingers over the mark. All he felt was smooth plastic.

"Are you telling me not to be scared, Tae?" Kaoru asked softly, his voice still seeming too loud in the quiet courtyard. "Are you telling me that you'll find me?"

He put the headphones back around his neck and rose, feeling a little more confident and stronger. He didn't know where he was, and he was certainly by himself. But there had to be a reason why he ended up in this place, wherever it was. There had to be other people here, because the lamps were still lit. He stepped up the stairs, seeing the rest of the buildings and two more gates. Kaoru lifted his right hand before him and called to Guardian.

The Keyblade appeared in his hand quickly, solid and real. He was still tired, so he didn't keep the Keyblade out for too long, but at least it was still there. He at least had the reserves to call it if he really needed it. For now, he let Guardian stay wherever it was it stayed when he didn't need it in his hand. Making a decision, Kaoru headed toward one of the gates, hoping that there was someone who could help him figure out where he was and how he could get out of the strange place. He also hoped there was someone who could give him a few answers, such as why the Heartless had emerged again after ten years and why his world had suddenly vanished. And maybe, just maybe, someone could tell him how to find Sora.

oooo

Kaoru ended up wandering around the town for hours with nothing to show for it. All of the buildings were dark and the doors were locked. He'd tried them, hoping maybe one might be unlocked so he could slip in, maybe find something to eat and somewhere safe to sleep. He also didn't see a single soul moving around. Were they all hiding? Was there somewhere the people of this town went when there was a stranger? His stomach was starting to rumble. He hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning, and was starting to finally wonder when his next meal would be.

 _Mom._ Kaoru stopped at the top of another set of stairs, looking down into a small courtyard that had a water fountain. _What happened to Mom? Is she gone forever? Can I save her?_ He looked up at the sky, at the pinpricks of stars. _Is it because I have Guardian that I managed to survive and end up here? I don't even know where 'here' is._

Kaoru started down the stairs. He at least had running water. While it wouldn't do anything to stop his stomach from chewing on his spine, it would give him temporary relief and at least he wouldn't die of dehydration. He hauled himself up onto the edge of the fountain and dipped his hands into the water, cupping them to take water up to his mouth. The water was cold and clear and tasted wonderful.

Kaoru stiffened. "Hello?"

Silence. But he could've sworn he'd heard the sound of boots on stone.

Slowly, Kaoru turned around, leaving his back toward the water fountain's big wall. His blue eyes scanned the shadows, searching for something out of the ordinary. "Hello?" he called again. "If there's anyone out there, I need some help. I don't know where I am and I don't know how I got here. Hello?"

More silence. Kaoru felt his body begin to respond, feeling the same anxiety he'd felt when the Heartless had first attacked him in Paradise City. He leaped to the ground where he would have more room to fight. He called Guardian to his hand and tightened his hand around the Keyblade's hilt. He was probably being over-cautious, but holding the Keyblade made him feel secure in a way he couldn't really describe. He studied Guardian for a while, watching the turquoise lines shimmer over the main body of the weapon. It was hard to believe that such a beautiful thing was capable of incredible destruction.

Kaoru lifted his gaze from Guardian and swept it over the courtyard. Whoever - or whatever - was watching him hadn't taken the bait of his lapse in vigilance. He was certain it was still watching him, but the appearance of the Keyblade had given it pause.

"I know you're out there!" Kaoru called, putting as much authority in his voice as he could and hoping it wasn't shaking. "Show yourself!"

Everything remained still and silent, except for the water fountain.

Shivering, Kaoru kept Guardian angled down as he walked toward the back of the courtyard, continuing to explore. He was glad he hadn't found anything to eat yet; his stomach was doing flip-flops as it was. He ducked around a corner and pressed himself against the wall, listening for anything out of the ordinary.

Footsteps, light and hesitant, sounded behind him.

Unsure if the footsteps belonged to a person or a Heartless, Kaoru tip-toed away from the wall and headed down an alley. There was a door at the end. Trying it, he found it unlocked and slipped inside. He eased the door shut until only a crack was left, allowing him to see out into the alley. Maybe if his stalker didn't know he was watching, he might be able to catch a glimpse of him. Kaoru waited, but no one appeared at the mouth of the alley. His grip tightened around the hilt of Guardian until his knuckles hurt. If this was what being a wielder of a Keyblade was all about, being hunted and hounded, then he didn't want to be one!

Kaoru sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. _Or maybe I'm just being paranoid. I might not be the only one who survived his world's demise. If this place is where the survivors end up, then whoever's watching me might be just as freaked out as I am._ Still, save for his Keyblade, Kaoru felt as though he was perfectly approachable. Unless the other person was actually a thing... or maybe the other couldn't communicate like a human... Kaoru shook his head to disperse those thoughts and shut the door completely. He was safe. For the moment, anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

Four - Traverse Town

The door Kaoru had entered led into the interior of a house. Dust covered everything, showing clear signs that someone hadn't lived here in a long, long time. After exploring in the hopes that maybe he would find something to eat and ending up only finding more dusty furniture and something extremely questionable in a cupboard, Kaoru slipped out of the house and into an unfamiliar street. He looked left and right, studying the buildings towering over him. He dispelled Guardian, then headed right. Eventually he ended up in the main square again, and Kaoru sat heavily on the stairs, holding his head in his hands.

An apple appeared in his peripheral, held in a slender hand attached to a slender arm.

Kaoru lifted his head and looked up at the arm's owner in surprise.

She was maybe a year or so older than Kaoru, with shoulder-length pink hair. Two blue diamond hair clips kept some of her hair out of her face. Magenta eyes sparkled as she studied him in turn. She wore a grey tank top and a purple skirt with a brown belt around her waist. Her right arm was covered by a brown sleeve that reminded Kaoru of an archer's guard. Her feet were encased in simple brown boots. She seemed friendly enough, but Kaoru continued to stare at her until she waved the apple in his face.

"Go on." She said, her voice soft. "Take it. You've gotta be hungry."

"Uh, thanks." Kaoru took the apple from her and studied the red shiny skin for a minute before taking a bite. The apple was sweet and juicy, and it eased the hunger gnawing at his backbone better than the few mouthfuls of water had.

The girl sat next to him, bracing her elbows on her knees. She cupped her chin in her hands and stared out at the courtyard, apparently waiting for him to finish with his apple. Kaoru took a few more bites, chewed, and swallowed before he lowered his hand and sat in silence with her.

"My name is Rinally. But everyone just calls me Rin." the girl said, looking fully at him now. She was smiling a little, but she didn't offer him her hand to shake.

"Kaoru," he replied, cradling the half-eaten apple in both hands so he didn't offer her his hand. "My friends just call me Kaoru."

Rinally laughed. Despite himself, Kaoru began to smile. Rin had a pretty laugh. Finally, she quieted, once more looking out into the courtyard. "Where are you from?" she asked.

"Paradise City. What about you? And where are we? How'd we get here? Were you the one following me?"

"I'm from the Sky Islands. As for where we are, this place is called Traverse Town. It's a hub world." Rin pointed to the sky then, where the stars still twinkled in the black backdrop. "All those stars are other worlds, just like yours and mine. When the stars wink out, it means a world was destroyed. We ended up here because that's what happened to our worlds. Somehow, we survived it."

Kaoru looked up at the sky, at the hundreds stars. Each one really was a world? Did someone somewhere look up at the sky and see the light of Paradise City from where they stood? What worlds was he looking at now? Was one of those worlds Sora's? "So if we survive the destruction of our world, we end up here?"

Rinally shrugged. "I don't know. My world was destroyed a week ago. I woke up here, in Traverse Town, all alone."

"You survived here alone for a week?"

"There are people here, but you just can't see them. They hide when strangers appear."

"So, again, were you the one following me?"

Rin shook her head. "No. I saw you sitting here from over there." She pointed toward a set of huge doors on the other side of the courtyard. "There's an inn that way. I've been staying there. I came out to the courtyard to get something to eat, and since you looked so miserable, I came over to talk to you."

"Oh." Kaoru looked back at the apple in his hands but no longer felt hungry. What Rin had told him made his stomach queasy. "How many hub worlds are there?"

"I don't know." Rinally shivered, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. "I hope more than this one. I don't want to be the only one who made it."

"Who'd you lose?"

Rin flicked her maroon eyes toward him, then away. She lifted her chin out of her hands and clasped her hands together. "My parents. My little sister. We'd gotten into a fight an hour before they came and I ran away. Next thing I know, my world is gone and I'm waking up here."

"They?"

"These little black creatures. They had huge glowing yellow eyes and big flat feet and spindly fingers." Rin made a few gestures with her hands. "And I thought I saw... I thought I saw _people_ with them. Guys in black hooded coats."

Kaoru frowned. He didn't remember seeing any people when the Heartless had appeared. He _did_ , however, remember Sora and Riku talking about 'them', back when he was little. Were the Heartless being controlled by people? And if so, who? And why? Sora had to know. Kaoru stood abruptly, startling Rin. "They're called Heartless. They consume hearts of people and worlds. Only the Keyblade can kill them."

"Wait, what?"

Kaoru looked at her. "When I was little, I was attacked by a huge Heartless. It had a metal rod sticking out of its chest. I was saved by Sora and Riku, the Keyblade Masters. That's when I was chosen as one of the Keyblade's wielders." To make sure she stopped looking at him so skeptically, he held out his hand and called Guardian to his hand. The Keyblade appeared immediately, its familiar weight settling in his hand as his fingers closed around the hilt. Rinally's eyes went wide. "Yesterday - I guess it's yesterday now - Guardian appeared to me just before my world was destroyed and I lost my best friends. I think I know why I ended up here. I need to find Sora."

"Wait, time out." Rin pushed herself to her feet, setting her hands on her hips. "You're talking about _the_ Sora, right? The kid from Destiny Islands who like, saved all the worlds by sealing Kingdom Hearts? The one who destroyed Organization XIII and connected the worlds?"

Kaoru shrugged. "I guess? I just know he wields the Kingdom Key and he travels around with Riku, who also has a Keyblade."

"Do you even know the story, or do you believe Sora just happened to appear to save your stupid ass and choose you as a successor?"

Kaoru pressed his lips together and let Guardian vanish. "Do I know what story?"

Rinally's mouth opened and closed for a few moments, her eyes wide with disbelief. Then she shook her head and launched into the story about Sora and the Keyblades and the hundreds of worlds that he had saved. Kaoru absorbed it all, stunned that one boy - a boy that had been Kaoru's age when he had started wielding the Keyblade and saving worlds - had actually lived through and fought these battles. Had he not seen Sora and Riku with his own eyes, he would've believed Rin was just making it up. When she was finished, he asked the one question that had started bothering him since she started talking. "How do you know all this?"

"When I was six, they came to the Sky Islands. Only there was a girl with them when they came. She's the one who told me the story. She also told me the story about the Princesses of Heart and how she was the guardian of her world's heart. But there were only seven of them, you know? Seven princesses whose hearts were so pure they were like bright beacons of light." Rinally smiled, her head tilting to the side. "I always wondered what it would be like to be a princess, you know?"

"Don't all girls?" Kaoru asked.

Rin narrowed her eyes at him, as if she couldn't decide if his question was in seriousness or an insult. Finally she shrugged. "I don't know. But the girl that was with them was really pretty. She was like a real princess."

They stood in silence for a little while, watching each other, and trying to gauge what the other was thinking. Kaoru looked toward the starry night sky, then around the courtyard, studying the huge doors before he looked back at Rin. "How do you get off a hub world?" he asked.

Rinally's expression turned sad and she shrugged weakly. "I don't know. I heard the people who live here talking about Highwind Shipping, which, I've discovered, is a company that takes people and stuff between worlds. But I haven't seen him come here. In fact, I haven't seen any gummi ship."

"Do gummi ships make regular rounds here?" Kaoru had seen the bulky ships before. Paradise City often had gummi ships coming in to drop things off or pick things up, but he had never really considered them important before. He wished he had paid more attention to them.

"According to the people, yeah. Cid used to live here. Used to come around a lot more often, too. Now he might make a trip once every month or so."

"Somehow, I don't think we can wait around here for a month."

"'We'?"

Kaoru smiled. "I'm not going to leave you here if I can figure a way off this world."

Rinally blinked, then slowly returned his smile. She shrugged. "If you can find a way off this place, then I'll gladly stick by your side."

"Have you explored the whole of Traverse Town yet?"

"Mostly."

"And you're positive you haven't been following me around?"

Rinally nodded. Kaoru looked toward the big gates that led deeper into Traverse Town and summoned Guardian again. "Then I think I've figured out how we can get out of here." He started walking toward the back of the courtyard, where the alley led back into the district where the water fountain was.

Rinally fell into step beside him. She now held a staff in her hands, her knuckles white around the haft. It was a plain red rod with a small gemstone floating in a gold circle setting at the top. He realized she must have summoned it, just like he had summoned Guardian. "Are you going to explain or do I get to figure it out while we do it?" Rin asked, her tone of voice both curious and sarcastic.

"I'm going to lure out whatever was watching me. If it's a Heartless, I'm going to try to defeat it. They have to get here somehow, right? If I defeat it, then maybe Guardian will show me the way out of here."

"How is that Keyblade going to show you anything?"

"That's what we're going to figure out." Kaoru replied, placing a hand on the giant door that led into the deeper parts of Traverse Town.

"You're useless."

"Shut up."


	6. Chapter 6

Five - Traverse Town

They entered the district, using the door as a shield just in case there was actually something waiting for them. The district was absolutely silent, save for the gurgling of the waterfall. Kaoru stepped out first, holding Guardian in a defensive position. Rinally was a step and a half behind him, clutching her staff. They stepped away from the door, letting it close behind them. Rinally gasped and jumped as the great doors suddenly locked behind them, and she held her staff up like it was a bludgeon. Kaoru eyed her, making sure he was out of swinging distance when she turned to him and glared.

"Not. A. Word." Rin growled.

Kaoru held up his free hand in a gesture of surrender. "Wasn't thinking anything at all. I swear."

Rin glowered at him but her staff remained close to her chest in a defensive position. "Just so you know," she said softly, "I'm not scared or anything."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm not!"

Kaoru just looked at her for a minute, then moved forward with hesitant steps, Guardian held at the ready. "You don't have to come with me." he said.

"I know. But I am." Rin lowered her staff, but her knuckles were still white. She glanced around them, her eyes flicking to every shadow as if expecting something to jump out at them at any second. "You have a plan, right?"

"Beyond getting the Heartless to show up and us killing it? No, not really."

Rinally made a soft sound and followed Kaoru down into the courtyard. Kaoru froze, Guardian snapping to the ready as he fell into a stance that felt practiced but was completely alien. Rin did the same, standing with her feet spread shoulder-width apart so she was balanced and ready for any action.

"You heard that, right?" Rin asked softly, turning slowly to put her back to Kaoru's.

"I'm kind of wishing I didn't." Kaoru responded just as quietly, turning his head left and right to try and find the source of the noise. It seemed too still in the courtyard; even the fountain seemed to have fallen silent in anticipation of what was going to happen. If anything happened. Kaoru took a few more steps forward.

His heart began to race.

Rinally let out a squeak as the ground beneath them started to rumble, and they watched with wide eyes as darkness began to seep out of the far side of the courtyard. It puddled together, slowly congealing, then two fiery red eyes rolled out of the goop and focused on the two teenagers. The goop began to bubble then, like water boiling when it was left on the fire for too long. Kaoru took a small step backwards out of surprise as a giant hand surged upward from the main body of the puddle. It hung suspended in the sky for a moment, then came crashing down. The force of the blow nearly knocked Kaoru and Rin off their feet. As it was, they both stumbled back a bit and were left unbalanced as the monster began to haul itself out of the puddle. The upper half of the Heartless was long and thin, spindly and over-exaggerated. The lower half was still immersed in the puddle of darkness. It only had a singular long arm that it used for balance, but smaller, almost vestigial, arms danced about its long torso, flexing and reaching for something the two teenagers couldn't see.

Its head rolled forward on a thin neck until the darkness of its face was staring down at Kaoru and Rinally. Two butter-yellow eyes rolled to the center of the darkness, blinking several times as it focused on the two below it. The darkness beneath its luminescent eyes shivered, then slowly spread apart in a mockery of a mouth. It roared, nearly deafening Kaoru and Rin with the sound.

"Do you have any plan?" Rinally asked, staring up at the Heartless with wide eyes.

Kaoru adjusted his grip on Guardian and fell into a stance. "I'm working on it. What do you have that can back me up?"

"Um, spells. Yeah, spells. Healing. I can be your pocket healer!" Rinally said in that panicked/excited voice, her eyes never leaving the giant Heartless before them.

"Anything else?"

"Maybe a few offensive spells, but I didn't really pay attention in witchcraft class, you know. I got what I got!"

Kaoru gripped his Keyblade tighter and tensed his body for movement. "Just stay back, all right?"

"No arguments here."

Kaoru pushed forward with his right foot leading, running toward the Heartless as fast as he could. The monster's hand lifted, undulating upward before it came rushing down with the intent to crush him. Kaoru spun away from the attack and swung Guardian upwards crosswise as hard as he could. The Keyblade connected with the darkness that made up the Heartless, tearing away motes as a regular blade would tear away flesh. The Heartless reared back with a howl and began to try and crush Kaoru with more vicious attacks, but the boy was able to avoid all of them with inches to spare.

A fireball rushed in over Kaoru's head, crashing into the Heartless's face. The monster reeled backwards with a shriek and pawed at its face. Kaoru glanced over his shoulder and saw Rinally holding her hands forward, her staff slightly smoking at its leading point. She drew her staff back and began reciting another incantation, this time thrusting her staff straight up. A bolt of lightning shot down from on high, striking the Heartless on its raised hand. It jerked, shaking its hand as the electricity coursed through its system. Rinally grinned at Kaoru, and he couldn't help the smirk as he rushed toward the Heartless, Guardian drawing back for a swing.

The Heartless's other hand sped toward him from the left. Kaoru leaped forward, tucking his head down as he forced his body into a somersaulting roll. He came back to his feet and swung Guardian toward the Heartless's arm, the Keyblade slicing through the darkness and severing the hand from the rest of the arm. A smaller, much faster hand caught Kaoru unawares, crashing into him and sending him flying across the courtyard. Kaoru grunted as he hit the ground, rolling over and over until he fetched up against a wall. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, feeling his body protest the movement. He felt the hot run of blood on his skin and realized that he'd scraped his elbow raw and had a nasty bruise forming on the side of his face. He dodged right as the Heartless slammed its hand into the bricks near him, trying to grasp him to squeeze the life from him.

Cool soothing magic flowed through Kaoru, and for a second, he had an incredibly uncomfortable itchy moment as his skin patched itself together and the ache in his face faded. He was on his feet in an instant, rushing into battle again with Guardian held down and tight to his side, ready for the next attack.

The Heartless rolled its eyes toward him, tracking his every movement with those butter-yellow orbs. Guardian flashed left and right, cutting through darkness with slashes, cuts, thrust, parries, and blocks. Kaoru was aided by both offensive and defensive magic from Rin, her spells distracting the monster so that Kaoru could get in close and attack the Heartless's body. The healing magic kept Kaoru going, even though the pain from his wounds wanted to make him curl up in a tight ball and cry. The stone was spattered with his blood, and it was an eerie feeling to know that, just a few seconds before, he'd made that blood puddle from a deep slice in his forearm but there was now no wound to prove it.

 _This is getting us nowhere,_ Kaoru thought, sliding to a stop beside Rinally after finishing a combination attack against the giant Heartless's hands. Every time he cut one away now, two more replaced the lost limb. It was like the Heartless was evolving as he fought it, seeking the best advantage over him and Rin. They'd hurt it, that much he knew. Bits and pieces of dark motes floated on the air before disappearing from sight; they didn't rejoin the main body, but there was no telling where they had gone. Still, for however much they'd hurt it, it had done more damage to Kaoru, and they still were no closer to defeating it.

"What do we do now?" Rinally asked, clutching her rod as she stared at the Heartless.

"I don't know." Kaoru sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. "I've never really fought Heartless before. I mean, there were just little Shadows, but nothing like this."

"It has to have a weakness, right? I mean, your Keyblade's hurt it."

"Yeah, it's hurt it, but..." Kaoru trailed off, grabbing Rinally's hand suddenly and pulling her with him as he dodged the massive black hand that came sailing in toward them. The concussion wave still sent them flying, landing hard on the ground. Kaoru surged to his feet, but hesitated. Rinally slowly picked herself up, soft curses leaving her.

"That thing is going to kill us before we can kill it!" Rinally spat.

"No, it won't." Kaoru said, even as those butter-yellow orbs rolled toward them. "Just stay right here. Don't move."

"But-"

"Just do what I say!" Kaoru slashed a glare at Rin, who glowered back at him, before he took off running. The Heartless twisted to follow him, its many hands rushing toward him.

Kaoru dodged as many as he could as they slammed into the ground around him; he ducked and twisted, hacked at them with Guardian as he fought to clear himself a path. He changed direction by coming to a sliding stop and rolling backwards, now running straight for the Heartless's main body. He swung his arm back and _threw_ Guardian as hard as he could toward the Heartless's chest. He felt the weapon slide from his fingers and watched it, almost in slow motion, as it spun away from him in circles toward its target. It struck the Heartless in the chest blade first, smashing a huge hole in the undulating darkness. Guardian reappeared in Kaoru's hand, and he threw it again, this time aiming for those huge rolling butter-yellow eyes.

Guardian crashed into the Heartless's face, right between its eyes, and snapped its head back. Its arms waved wildly, smashing into the ground without rhyme or reason. Kaoru barely dodged those that slammed down near him, and he faintly heard Rinally's cry of surprise - or maybe it was pain - but he caught flashes of lightning spells in his peripheral and knew she was all right. Guardian was back in his hand again shortly after being thrown, and Kaoru ran toward the Heartless's face. It was listing to one side, its eyes rolling wildly all around its face. He flipped Guardian around in his hand so it was in a reverse grip, different from how he usually held the blade. He swung his arm back just a second before he went into an almost vertical spin, slicing Guardian through the Heartless's neck.

Kaoru gasped as all the breath was knocked out of him, meeting unexpected resistance at the Heartless's neck. Black lightning snapped and sparked where Guardian pressed down on the Heartless's black skin, sending tiny motes into the air as the two opposing forces fought each other. Kaoru twisted his body so he could grab Guardian's hilt with both hands, pushing down hard, trying to sever the resistance.

 _"_ _It's them! They've got control of this one!"_

Sora's voice, from a lifetime ago. Flashes of memory - a black rod sticking out of the Heartless's chest; Riku, struggling to pull it out; bright, white light that came from him and Sora and the Keyblade he'd held - shot through Kaoru's mind in an instant. He grit his teeth and pushed harder, causing more black, purple-veined lightning to be released. The Heartless squealed and undulated around him, its hands flailing wildly as it sought to kill the young Keyblade wielder.

 _I won't let you win!_ Kaoru shoved himself back and planted his feet even as the Heartless began to regain its senses. Kaoru flipped Guardian around to his normal hold and let the Keyblade rest comfortably in his right hand. He raised the left slightly, palm up, and cupping his hand as if he were holding something. _I can't let you win. I need to find my friends. I need to find Sora and Riku. I need..._

Bright, white light surrounded him like a halo. The light originated in his left hand but radiated outward, almost covering his entire body. It was warm, soft light, and even though the Heartless recoiled from it, Kaoru found that it didn't blind him at all. Instead, it was as if he could see with some sort of terrible clarity, and as he looked upon the Heartless where Guardian had cut away at its neck, he saw the same black rod he'd seen ten years ago, embedded in the chest of the Heartless that had tried to kill him.

"Kaoru!"

He clenched his fist, cutting off the light, but not completely. Instead, the light began to swirl around him, coalescing almost. It grew brighter as it coiled around his right arm, and in a burst of bright motes, extinguished itself. In its place was gold and silver armor, encasing the whole of Kaoru's hand, forearm, and shoulder. The glove was silver metal, light enough that Kaoru could flex his fingers and have full mobility in his hand, but sturdy enough to withstand the test of battle holding his Keyblade. The gauntlet went up to his elbow and stopped after forming a small plate that protected the elbow joint. The silver metal encircled his forearm and was lined with gold. His pauldron was also made of silver metal lined with gold, and it fully encased his shoulder, giving him added protection without losing too much mobility. As Kaoru looked at it, he could almost see the light shifting in the armor, creating a rainbow-like reflective surface as the light rippled across it.

Rinally stopped only a few paces behind him, her eyes wide as she took in Kaoru's new appearance. Kaoru turned slightly to glance at her, but he could only offer her a shrug before he turned his attention back to the Heartless.

He raised Guardian and gripped the hilt tight in his newly-gauntleted hand. _I won't let you win._ Those butter-yellow eyes rolled toward him as if the Heartless had heard his thought. Perhaps it had. Kaoru shot forward as the Heartless pulled itself upright. He cut Guardian across the air between him and the Heartless, felt the blade connect with the Heartless's neck and the black rod there, and there was a burst of black, purple-veined lightning. He met resistance from the rod but continued to push, continued to try and force Guardian through the rod.

Then Rinally's hands were on his, her strength adding to the power already pushing at the blade. More lightning snapped; Kaoru felt a sharp line of pain streak across his face as lightning snapped too close to him. The Heartless thrashed even as the rod began to bend, its eyes rolling haphazardly all around its face. Its hands flailed, but there was no control over the movement. Kaoru strained his arms; even with the added power of his armor, it still didn't seem enough!

 _SNAP_

Rinally let out a yelp as she was suddenly thrown to the ground. Kaoru nearly lost his grip on Guardian as well. The Keyblade sheared right through the metal rod and its momentum carried Kaoru around in a spin. The Heartless's head lolled on the broken rod, its eyes continuing to roll around its face. Its hands began to fall to the ground one by one, limp and unmoving. Kaoru planted his feet and somehow maintained his grip on Guardian, keeping the Keyblade close.

"We did it!" Rin cried, shoving herself to her feet. A big grin split her face as she looked at Kaoru. "We killed it!"

"I guess so." Kaoru responded, taking a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He brought Guardian up, pointing the tip of the Keyblade at the Heartless's face. "Not bad for our first time, I guess."

"...I should hate you, but I don't."

Kaoru smiled wanly. "Thanks." He turned his attention back to the Heartless. He raised Guardian.

A bead of light appeared at the the end of the blade, and then a prismatic beam shot forward, crashing into the Heartless's face much like he remembered. Slowly, the Heartless's body split apart into motes, and Kaoru and Rin watched as a huge prismatic heart appeared, floating in the air for a few minutes before soaring away out of sight. When it was gone, Kaoru dismissed Guardian and knelt by the sheared rod, reaching with his right hand to pick up one of the halves.

Rinally crouched beside him, looking curiously at the rod. "What is it?"

"I don't know. I've seen it before. Ten years ago, a Heartless had it embedded in its chest. Sora and Riku talked about 'them' and how the rods gave 'them' control over the Heartless." Kaoru turned the rod over in his hand. It was unremarkable black metal, though he could sense it seethed with the power of darkness. There was something wrong about the darkness that filled the rod, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Either way, it made him feel as if he were holding three-day old slime mold, the cold, icky, gooey kind that you tend to pull out of bathtub drains. He dropped the rod and reflexively scrubbed his armored hand on his pants. "But that's all I know. All I can remember."

Rin stared at the two halves of the rod as if they were snakes about to bite her. "Sounds like whatever's, or whoever's, behind this is pretty strong."

"I guess."

"Maybe it's an offshoot of Organization XIII?"

It took Kaoru a minute to remember the story of the Organization, as told to him by Rinally, but he shrugged, unsure. "I don't know. It doesn't seem like something they would do, even if they were still around. These rods... they're, I don't know, more sophisticated than something the Organization is usually known for."

Rin was silent for a while, and Kaoru kept staring at the two halves of the rod, trying to figure out what felt so wrong about it. No answer was jumping out at him, so he decided to put it aside for the time being. Right now, he needed to focus on first finding a way off Traverse Town, and then he could focus on trying to answer all the questions that were slowly but surely piling up in his mind.

"Well, what now?" Rinally asked, moving to stand beside him.

Kaoru looked at his right arm, which was still incased in the silver and gold armor. It was duller now, without the shifting light beneath the plating, and looked just like regular armor. He lifted his hand, studying the armor as he turned his hand over. "Now we need to get out of here." he replied.

"How, exactly?"

"The Heartless got here somehow. We just need to find its entry point. Then, we should be able to get out of here."

Rin raised an eyebrow at him but she didn't argue. Like him, she was probably eager to get off this hub world and continue on trying to find her family and get her own answers. Kaoru slowly moved along the path the Heartless had taken, trying to see something that seemed amiss. Rinally moved along with him, perhaps a half-step behind and on the opposite side, searching for clues. They paced slowly all the way down the street until they reached the spot where the Heartless had originated from. Kaoru crouched by the spot that had first been overtaken by the darkness, and reached out with his right hand to touch the stones. He winced as a shock went up his arm and he drew his hand back. His fingertips, though still encased in the silver armor of his gauntlet, felt as though they had been held over a fire for a significant amount of time. Fearing that maybe he was actually wounded, Kaoru focused on his armor and willed it to leave his arm. The armor burst into gold and white motes that floated around him for a time before dissipating. Rin let out a low whistle at the sight, but said nothing, at least until she crouched beside him and took his right hand between hers.

"Looks like you and darkness don't get along," Rin said, studying his singed fingertips. She hovered her left palm over his fingertips and a warm green glow suffused the air between them. When she drew her hand back, Kaoru's fingertips were completely healed, without a trace of injury. "Maybe you shouldn't go touching things you don't know about."

Kaoru smiled his thanks and studied his fingers. "I think that's our way off Traverse Town, though."

"Huh?"

"I think we have to go through here. I just don't know where it leads, or where we'll end up."

Rinally blew out a breath and looked at the space of stones that still seemed to be covered in inky blackness. "So the real question is, do we go or do we stay?"

Kaoru willed his armor back onto his arm and noticed that his armor once again seemed to crawl with prismatic light. He reached out again to touch the stones, and this time the darkness began to bubble and boil as if it was injured by his touch. It boiled up and out until it seemed like a deep dark pillar before it began to spread outward. Tendrils of dark smoke began to curl from the edges, drifting off into little motes before vanishing, and then the center of the now-oval shaped pillar began to swirl until it spread to the edges, revealing a mirror-like surface that revealed only darkness beyond it.

Kaoru held out his hand to Rinally. "I guess we go."

She gave him an unsure-but-game smile and took his hand, holding tight to it. Together, they entered the portal and stepped onto the path that would take them, hopefully, somewhere new.


	7. Chapter 7

Six - The Paths of Darkness, Between Worlds

How long they walked together, hand in hand, neither of them knew. Nothing changed much in the way of scenery. The path they were on was the only solid color in the pitch black, but even still, there was the tiniest hint of light around them. It was never quite ahead of them, never quite behind them, but it always seemed to be there. Kaoru held Guardian in his right hand, keeping the weapon low but always at the ready. There was no telling what might be lurking out there, waiting for them to lower their guard. They didn't speak a word to one another, afraid that their voices might echo in the emptiness and draw unwanted attention.

The path snaked along ahead of them without much deviation save to curl forward and back in a strange wave-like motion. It disappeared into the distance, leaving no discernible end to it. Kaoru tilted his head up to look above them, but as with everywhere else, there was only pitch darkness, illuminated by a far away light. There was no other way for them to go except forward, so they kept walking, even when their legs began to feel as if they were made of lead.

Kaoru didn't want to stop, but he knew he had to, at least for a little while. They hadn't prepared well for this journey. They had no supplies, no food or water, nothing that would make their rest a little more comfortable. He didn't say anything, and he was grateful that Rin didn't say anything either. They sat together on the path, eyes traveling everywhere except each other's faces. Finally they started walking again, but the path never seemed to end.

"How much farther?" Rinally finally asked, keeping her voice to a mere whisper. Even still, it seemed unnaturally loud to Kaoru's ears.

"I don't know." he replied just as quietly. "But we have to keep moving. It's the only way we'll find a way out."

"Do you think this place connects the worlds to each other?"

"It has to."

"I wonder what world we'll end up on now."

"Well, if it's anything like the story you told me, probably a world that needs us the most."

Rin laughed softly, but there wasn't much humor in the sound. "Ever get the feeling you're being used by something you can't even begin to understand?"

"If you'd asked me that before, I would've laughed at you." Kaoru looked down at Guardian, tightening his fingers around the hilt of the Keyblade. "Now, though, yeah, I totally get that feeling."

They kept walking, hand in hand, next to each other now instead of a half-step behind or ahead. Their conversation once more lapsed into silence, but this time their steps seemed a little more confident than before. If they were being used by something unfathomable, then they weren't the only ones. Everyone who wielded a Keyblade or was associated with a Keyblade owner was someone who was entangled in the most incredible mystery of all. All they had to do was find the original players of the game, and they would get some of their questions answered, maybe even gain the knowledge of who - or what - was manipulating them so.

Kaoru stopped short on the path, pulling Rin to a halt. She looked at him questioningly, but then her eyes steadily widened. Kaoru released her hand so she could summon her staff and prepare her spells. He gripped Guardian tighter and raised the Keyblade up some, but beyond preparing himself for the defensive, there was nothing he could do. They were on the only path in the darkness, illumined by their personal light and the light that seemed to suffuse the darkness around them. They were easy to see, easy to hunt. Until now they had moved without being bothered; the minor Shadows that coalesced in the distant dark hadn't paid much attention to the two teenagers as they headed to their unknown destination. Kaoru hadn't heard or sensed anything bigger that might actually prove a danger to them. Hadn't, until now.

Rinally inhaled sharply as the path seemed to shake with the thunderous footsteps of their approaching enemy. Her hands tightened around her staff and her eyes darted around wildly, looking for any sign of the approaching monster. There was no telling where it was actually coming from; sound seemed to echo from all points, converging on them from all around. Kaoru fell into his stance, making sure he would be able to move quickly when he needed to. The path trembled again, and behind them, Kaoru thought he saw the path beginning to crumble.

The Heartless that relentlessly marched toward them was huge, akin to the Behemoth Kaoru had seen when he had been little. It was wider, though, broader, and it had six legs instead of four. A massive trunk spilled down from a broad, angular face, and two tusks pushed out from its upper jaw. Four long tails whipped around its girth, almost comically thin when compared to the rest of its body. Kaoru could see that each of the tails had a triangular shape at the end of it, and when that shape crashed into the ground, it cut a deep rut into the path, causing it to begin to break.

Rinally squeaked before she covered her mouth with her hand to muffle the sound. "There's no way in _hell_ we're going to be able to fight that!" she whispered harshly.

She was right, Kaoru knew. He looked at the path, at the hairline fractures that were starting to grow closer to them, then up at the Heartless coming toward them. "Run." he whispered back.

"What?"

"Run. The path is breaking apart and there's no telling where we'll end up if we fall off."

Rin stared at Kaoru for a long moment before returning her gaze to the Heartless. Its huge, butter yellow eyes focused on them and its steps began to increase in tempo. It lifted back its massive head and roared, revealing rows of sharp teeth.

Kaoru grabbed Rin's hand and spun around, pelting down the path as fast as he could. Rinally ran right behind him, not wasting any breath with words. Behind them, Kaoru heard the Heartless let out another bellow and then he could only hear the thunder of its footsteps as it chased after them. Kaoru didn't dare look back; he didn't want to see the Heartless gaining on them and he didn't want to see the path disappearing behind them. He focused ahead of them, making sure he kept a firm hold on Rinally's hand. Not that he had to worry about losing her; her hand was firmly wrapped around his in a grip that hurt. Their own sounds were drowned out by the sounds from the Heartless behind them, but their lungs were starting to burn and their legs were starting to become filled with lead.

Finally Kaoru looked back over his shoulder and saw that the Heartless was gaining on them. The hairline fractures that had been forming in the path were now widening to fissures, breaking even more. The path closest to the Heartless had nearly completely disintegrated, leaving no way back for them to take. Gritting his teeth, Kaoru pushed forward, pulling Rinally along with him.

 _Come on!_ Kaoru thought frantically. _Come on! There has to be a way out of here! Think, Kaoru, think!_ They were slowing down. They were exhausted. They had nothing left in reserve for energy, and they had had nothing to eat or drink since before finding their way into this place. They hadn't considered how long it would be before they got out - if they got out.

The Heartless bellowed behind them and Rinally shook off Kaoru's hand, causing him to nearly stumble and fall. She spun to face the Heartless, her staff raising to take aim at it. Fire coalesced around the rod's tip, growing bigger and brighter until a fireball roared to life. Rinally took a deep breath, then shouted, "Firaga!" The fireball took off as if it were fired from a cannon, speeding over the ground until it crashed into the Heartless's trunk. The fireball exploded in a wave of heat and light, spreading up the Heartless's face until it completely surrounded its head.

Kaoru sucked in a deep breath as the Heartless started to thrash, its massive feet slamming down hard on the path as it fought to get free of Rinally's spell. The entire path shook with the force of those blows and more pieces broke off, simply disappearing into the darkness below. The cracks ran up under their feet, slowly widening with each booming crash.

"We need to go!" Kaoru cried, reaching for Rinally. She grabbed his hand only a second before the floor beneath her feet gave way. Kaoru yelped at the sudden strain on his arm and went down to his knees. Guardian spun out of his hand, skidding across the path. Rinally screamed as she suddenly found herself weightless, dangling above a yawning maw of utter darkness.

"Don't let me fall!" Rin screamed, her hand tight around Kaoru's.

"I won't! Just hold on!" Kaoru pulled as hard as he could on her hand, managing to somehow throw his own weight back and haul her up enough that she could grab onto what was left of the path with her free hand. Kaoru kept pulling until Rin had enough leverage to pull herself up the rest of the way.

They had barely gained their feet before they were thrown to the ground again, the Heartless bellowing in frustration and hatred as the flames finally cleared. It looked right at them, right at Rinally, and its eyes narrowed. It took a menacing step forward, then another, and another, until it was all but charging right at them. Kaoru summoned Guardian to his hand and quickly flung it forward. It spun hilt over blade and crashed right between the Heartless's eyes, sending it reeling backwards. Guardian was back in Kaoru's hands a second later, and he scrambled to his feet, pushing Rin ahead of him.

They ran, fear driving them to go faster, even as the Heartless lumbered after them. The path was crumbling faster than they could run, the cracks becoming fissures and the fissures sloughing off to reveal nothing but darkness below. They leaped over the wider parts, continuing to run even though their lungs burned hot enough that their chests hurt. The path continued to stretch ahead of them, an infinite thing. Kaoru wanted to cry out for help, but there was no one here that would help them. He dismissed Guardian, reaching forward with his right hand. He didn't know how he'd made the first portal, but he hoped the fluke or whatever it had been repeated itself now. He had no choice. The last desperate move they had was to jump completely off the path and give themselves over to the darkness below, praying that they weren't separated somehow.

Ahead the trail seemed to darken before it blotted itself out entirely. Rin skidded to a halt at the edge of the remaining piece of the path, panting harshly. Kaoru slid to a stop beside her, watching with wide eyes as the darkness began to coalesce before them, akin to the first portal. This one formed faster than the first, but was slower in opening itself to the other side.

The Heartless behind them roared, and Kaoru jerked his foot away from the crumbling path, having nearly lost his balance and fallen. The Heartless's six thick legs began to pound faster, as if it knew its prey was about to escape it. Its four whiplike tails thrashed ahead of it and around it, digging into the ground and tearing away great chunks. Kaoru could hear the whistling of its tails even though it was still so far away from them. Not that it would stay away for long.

The portal was barely open, its reflective surface barely recognized before Rinally grabbed Kaoru's hand and started forward. She broke through first and vanished from sight, pulling Kaoru through with her. He gasped reflexively as he passed through the portal, feeling as though a thousand glass shards were cutting into his skin, trying to hold him back. He closed his eyes tightly, clenched his fingers around Rin's, and hoped that wherever they ended up, it would be somewhere safe.


	8. Chapter 8

Seven - Beast's Castle

Kaoru woke to a world draped in white. He pushed himself up slowly and heard unfamiliar crunching beneath his hands. In fact, every time he moved, the same crunching filled his ears. It took him a while to place the sound, and realized he was now kneeling in snow. As if that realization triggered his body to realize his sensations, he suddenly felt cold and began to shiver. Someone groaned beside him, and he turned slightly to see Rin shifting in the snow, slowly waking up as well.

"Ugh, my head..." Rin whimpered, pushing herself up only to clutch at her head. She seemed to realize she was sitting in the snow then and quickly jumped to her feet, wrapping her arms around herself to try and hold in her warmth. "Where are we?"

Kaoru got to his feet as well, brushing snow off himself before it began to melt into his clothes and make him even colder. He didn't answer Rin right away, instead looking around them to try and place where they were. The snow they had woken up in was pristine all around, save for where they had churned it. There weren't any signs of animals or anything else. The trees that surrounded them were thin and naked, their spindly limbs stretching toward the grey sky. Kaoru tilted his head back and decided that the clouds above meant it was going to start snowing again. He pivoted, trying to see anything different through the grey mass of the forest. It all looked the same, no matter what direction he turned in.

At last he said, "I don't know. But it's not where we were."

"Gee, I never would've thought that." Rin said, her teeth chattering. Her arms tightened around her chest and she took a few tentative steps forward. The snow crunched loudly under her feet. "What direction should we go in?"

Kaoru plowed a small path toward a tree, frowning as he touched the splotchy bark. There was no moss, nothing to tell him which way was north. Without that marker, there would be no way that they'd be able to make it out of the woods before night fell and they started to freeze. "I guess we'll just pick a way. We need to focus on finding shelter."

"I'd prefer to pick a way that leads toward civilization."

Kaoru couldn't agree with her more, but there was no real way to tell which direction would take them toward it. The trees were thin here where they had ended up, but he wondered if there were thicker trees further in. There was one other way he could divine a location, so he gestured to Rin and headed into the woods. She quickly followed him, hopping a little as she fought to keep from getting stuck in the snow.

At last he found a tree that might hold his weight. "Stay here."

"Sure," Rin said. "Don't have to tell me twice." She watched him ascend, tilting her head back until she could keep track of him moving through the branches. She glanced around her and shivered again, wishing she had decided to wear warmer clothes. But it had been summer on the Sky Islands, so she had dressed for summer, not winter. She knew Kaoru was in much the same state she was, but at least he was wearing pants. All she had was leggings and a skirt.

Kaoru reached the top branch of the tree and carefully pulled himself up onto it. He sat for a moment before carefully rising to his feet. With his head above the canopy of trees, he was able to see farther than had he been traveling on the ground. He carefully turned his head, seeing nothing but the grey expanse of leafless trees and snow in any direction he turned in. He didn't even see smoke, a telltale sign of life. Slowly, he pivoted on the branch so he could face the other way and a grin split his face.

There, looming on a rise above the forest, was a huge castle. The windows seemed to glow with inner light, which told him the castle was inhabited. He raised his arm, trying to gauge distance, and frowned. Even if they started moving now, it wasn't likely that they'd reach the castle before nightfall. Kaoru marked the direction in his mind, then slowly began to climb down the tree, dropping the last few feet back into the snow.

"Did you see anything?" Rinally asked, fighting to keep her teeth from chattering now.

"Yeah. A castle." Kaoru pointed through the trees. "It's that way, but even if we run, we won't make it before dark."

"I don't want to run." Rin complained. She shivered. "I don't think I want to be out in the dark, either, though."

Kaoru smiled. "Either way, we'd better get moving."

"Right."

Kaoru began to plow a trail through the snow, heading in the direction the castle lay. Rinally moved behind him, walking in the trail he blazed. Now that they were moving, the cold didn't seem to bother them much. That wasn't to say they weren't still shivering; their hands were tucked up under their armpits to protect their fingers and their breath was steaming in the air. Kaoru could almost hear Rin's teeth chattering as she walked behind him. His own teeth were chattering, and he was sure the skin on his face was turning brittle in the cold. The forest seemed to stretch on forever, untouched and pristine in its winter-locked state. The snow made traveling rough, but as tired as he was, Kaoru kept forcing himself to go forward. Then he heard something drop behind him and whirled.

Rinally was kneeling in the snow, curled up on herself. She was trembling badly and her lips were turning blue. It was dusk now, and the temperature was swiftly dropping. Snow had even started to fall again, and it was collecting on her hair and shoulders, just as it was collecting on Kaoru's. He was shivering himself, but somehow, sheer determination was keeping him on his feet. He was tired and hungry, but he couldn't give up. He moved back to Rin and crouched in front of her, reaching to smooth back her pink hair from her face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm sorry. I can't... I can't..."

"It's all right." Kaoru turned, snow crunching under his feet. He presented her his back, looking at her over his shoulder. "Get on. I'll carry you."

She stared at him, startled, then nodded. She reached to hook her arms over his shoulders, and then pressed close to his back. Kaoru hooked his arms under her legs as he lifted her up, bouncing her once to get her more comfortable for him to carry. Then he started walking again. It was slower now, having to carry Rin and plow through snow that was sometimes as high as his thighs, but Kaoru kept moving, even as darkness slowly enveloped them.

Rin pressed her chin against Kaoru's shoulder, watching his face out of the corner of her eye. "Have you carried someone like this before?"

"Yeah." Kaoru replied, his blue eyes holding forward. He glanced at her only once and smiled, then resumed focusing on the path in front of them.

"Who?"

"My friend Tae. We met in elementary school, and it turned out we were neighbors. So we would play with each other all the time. One day, we went to the park to play and she got lost." Kaoru grinned at the memory, but it had a note of sadness to it. "Turns out she fell down an embankment that the park authority forgot to rope off. She twisted her ankle and couldn't get out. I found her and carried her out."

"She sounds like a ditz." Rin said, a joking tone in her voice.

Kaoru laughed. "She is, kinda. I think you'd like her. She's a bit bubbly and kind of air-headed, but... she's really nice."

"Sounds like you love her."

"I guess I do, in a way. She's like my sister. Even when my mom got a new job and we moved across the city, we never let a day go by that we didn't talk with one another."

Rin hummed, smiling a little bit. "She sounds like a really nice person."

"She is. And my friend Hiromu is pretty cool, too. Tae and I met him about five years ago, during spring break. He's a little bossy sometimes, but he's a really nice guy." Kaoru trailed off, faltering in his words. For some reason, the memory of Hiromu glaring at him in the hours before Paradise City had been destroyed teased him now. If Rin noticed, she didn't comment on it, but she tightened her hold briefly, giving him a slight hug. Kaoru smiled, grateful for the obvious motion of comfort. "What about your family?"

"My family? Well..." Rinally paused, her eyes staring off into the darkness as her lips formed a slight frown. "My parents are cool, I guess. As much as parents can be, anyway. My dad is a teacher, and my mom runs a jewelry shop that's popular with tourists. They pretty much ignore me in favor of my little sister. She's about three years younger than me, and is just the most _lovable_ darling."

Kaoru didn't miss the slight sneer in Rin's voice as she described her sister. He couldn't understand, really, only because he didn't have siblings of his own. "You don't like your sister?"

"She's a spoiled little brat. She gets everything she wants and if something doesn't go her way, she cries about it until my parents appease her." Rin growled softly. "She always follows me around, and if I don't let her, it's "Rin, she's your little sister! She loves you and just wants to be with you!" or "Rin, be nice to your sister!" Every time I want to be alone, she shows up. And not only does she go through my stuff and take what she wants, I'm just supposed to let her and not make a fuss about it."

"Sounds like being a big sister is really hard."

Rin nodded, but turned her face away from Kaoru's. Her voice was incredibly sad when she answered, "It is. But... but that doesn't mean I don't love her, you know? She gave me this barrette the day the Sky Islands were destroyed. It was supposed to be a birthday gift, but for some reason, she just gave it to me then."

"We'll find her." Kaoru said softly. "We'll get our worlds back."

"I know."

They lapsed into silence after that, with the only sounds being their chattering teeth and the crunching of snow beneath their feet. Kaoru moved even slower than before now that night was fully upon them. He didn't want to make a misstep and end up hurting himself or Rin. Still, he knew that he wasn't going to be able to keep moving for much longer. His body was becoming heavier, and his eyes were becoming more and more difficult to keep open. His stomach was twisting in hunger knots, and his throat was parched. He raised his head, trying to see any hint of light through the trees, but all he saw was the dark shadows of trees looming out of the darkness and the crackling expanse of snow. More snow kept falling from above, leaving him no respite from the cold.

"Kaoru," Rin whispered, "we're not going to make it to the castle, are we?"

"Of course we are." Kaoru said, taking one heavy step after another. "We'll make it. You'll see."

Rinally's arms tightened around his shoulders, pulling her closer to him. They were sharing what little warmth they had left between them already, but it wasn't doing them much good. Kaoru didn't want to deviate from the direction he'd chosen, but he needed to find shelter. He needed to get them both out of the snow, needed to try and warm them both up. If he didn't, they weren't going to survive much longer.

Kaoru stopped moving in order to set Rin on her feet. She wobbled, but she managed to stay upright even as he stepped away to try and see how deep the snow was. He'd seen on television how someone had survived being caught in a snowstorm by digging a den in the snow itself. He crouched, trying to start a hole in a nearby drift. Rin was soon beside him, trying to help. They'd barely gotten a quarter of the way before a wolf's howl rose into the night.

Kaoru was on his feet in an instant, Guardian in his hand. He could barely hold onto the weapon, his fingers felt so frozen. Rinally crouched low in the snow, her eyes wide as another howl joined the first. Kaoru knew there was no way they could run. Their bodies were too tired, too weak, to really put up much of a fight. Kaoru felt them, the wolves slowly circling around them. The beasts were focused on the two teens, sensing their weakness, and were preparing to attack. Kaoru was sure he could fend off one or two, but he didn't think he would survive long enough to do any good. He heard them coming closer, but he couldn't tell how many there were.

"Kaoru," whispered Rin. She wasn't standing; instead, she was crouched even lower in the snow, as if she could hide if she got low enough. "What do we do?"

"I don't know." He could almost see them now, seven shadows slinking about in the darkness and slowly coming closer. He held Guardian up with both hands now, trying to keep the weapon steady. If he faltered, then he would be dead, and so would Rin.

"Do you think we can run?"

"Can you move?"

Rin shook her head, her shivers becoming more noticeable. Kaoru was shivering himself, both out of cold and out of fear. The seven shadows came closer and Kaoru could finally make out what they were. The wolves were circling them, looking for an opening, looking for a moment to strike. Their lips were pulled back to reveal sharp fangs and their eyes glinted in the moonlight, almost glowing with the desire for the fresh meat the two teenagers represented. Rin whimpered softly as she saw the wolves slowly coming closer, but she was too tired to cast a spell let alone fight. Kaoru shifted to try and put himself between the wolves and Rinally, to try and protect her. The wolves growled almost as one and stopped circling. Their ears were pricked forward, their tails raised, and then Kaoru saw a massive black beast out of the corner of his eye suddenly charge toward him.

The boy turned faster than he'd expected himself to and slashed with Guardian through the open air between him and the wolf. The weapon connected with the wolf's jaw and smashed the beast to the side, driving it into the snow chased by its own pained howl and a few teeth. The rest of the pack hesitated. Kaoru hated putting his back to danger, but the black wolf was gaining its feet. Blood spattered the otherwise white snow as the wolf pulled its lips back and let its maw drop open slightly to reveal a bloodstained tongue. It lunged at Kaoru again, nimbly dodging Guardian this time. It danced around behind him, forcing Kaoru to turn to keep the animal in sight and ready for an attack.

Rin shrieked as two other wolves charged suddenly, almost racing each other for the kill. Kaoru whirled and threw Guardian as hard as he could toward the wolves. The Keyblade cracked into one wolf's side, rebounded into the legs of the other, and both wolves tumbled into the snow with howls of pain. Then pain blossomed from Kaoru's left leg as the black wolf slammed into him, teeth piercing cloth and flesh alike. Kaoru screamed as the wolf bore him down into the snow, dragging him away from Rinally. Even when Guardian came back into his hand, Kaoru fought hard to get the wolf to let go of him. When the wolf finally did so, Kaoru used his unarmed hand to pull himself backwards as best he could. His leg refused to work and he could see a dark stain in the snow as he pulled himself back to Rin.

She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close, her eyes wide and filled with terror. The wolves continued to circle, drawing closer and closer. Even the black wolf eyed Kaoru with a mix of predatory glee and satisfaction as it came closer.

 _Come on, light._ Kaoru thought, trying to hold Guardian up as best he could. _Where are you? You protected me once, why aren't you protecting us now?_

But the light - and his armor - remained inert.

The black wolf prepared to leap.

A deep, savage roar filled the clearing just as the black wolf launched itself into the air. A massive shape surged out of the darkness, racing toward the black wolf. To Kaoru, it seemed that time slowed as the wolf and the creature came toward him. Then the creature slammed into the wolf with bone-breaking force, sending the animal flying into a tree hard enough that a crack was audible. Since the wolf didn't get back up, Kaoru assumed the crack had come from the animal's bones rather than the tree. His eyes turned to the creature then, but in the darkness, he couldn't make sense of what it was. The rest of the wolves forgot the two teenagers and focused on the creature, but they didn't seem to be a match for the creature. Giant claws tore through the soft fur and flesh of the wolves as they leaped onto the creature's back to try and tear away pieces of flesh. Their teeth couldn't get through the creature's tough hide, though each bite definitely hurt, because the creature roared each time a wolf's teeth found its arm or shoulder. Kaoru watched with dizzy apathy as the creature grasped wolves around their middles and threw them into trees or into the air, flinging them away as if they were ragdolls and not living creatures.

Then Rinally's arms were around his chest, pulling him close and tight, even as her shaking hand reached toward his wounded, ruined leg. A green glow, weak and pale, surrounded her hand as she tried to heal his wounds. Her face was close to his, pale and blue-lipped, but she still was trying to heal him even when she didn't have much left for herself. "Stay with me, Kaoru," Rinally whispered in his ear. "Stay with me."

Kaoru let out a shaky breath and nodded. The wolves squealed in defeat and bolted into the safety of the woods. The creature roared after them, then snorted. Rinally and Kaoru lifted their gazes as the snow crunched under the creature's feet. The Beast stared down at the two of them, his bullish furred head angled to stare down at them. The last thing Kaoru could remember seeing was the giant, clawed hand coming toward him and Rinally.


	9. Chapter 9

Eight - Beast's Castle

Kaoru came to suddenly and violently.

He shot upright and grasped Guardian as soon as the Keyblade appeared in his hand. Then he swung it toward the presence beside him as fast and as hard as he could, barely registering the feminine gasp of surprise at his sudden movement. In a split second, he willed Guardian away before the Keyblade could make contact with the pretty brunette woman, though he was sure she still felt the wind from his hand as it passed by her face. Her blue eyes were wide as she realized just how close to injury she had come, but she recovered remarkably quickly and focused on Kaoru.

"And here I was, going to ask if you were strong enough to get up yet." she said with a brilliant smile.

Kaoru stared at her for a minute, blinking. "What?"

She sat beside him on the bed and put her hand to his forehead. She studied his face for a minute, then dropped her hand and pulled back, rising to pace around the other side of the room. She grasped dark curtains and pulled them aside, letting sunlight stream into the room. "When he brought you two back here, you were in worse shape than we originally thought. Honestly, what were you doing, wandering around in the forest after dark?"

Kaoru felt confused for a long while before he remembered what had happened yesterday. He remembered wandering the darkness with Rinally, finally escaping and ending up in the snowy forest, and then being attacked by wolves after dark and the strange creature that had saved them. "'He'?" Kaoru questioned. "And who are you?"

"My name is Belle." The woman turned and gave him a brilliant smile. Kaoru squinted slightly, but it wasn't because of the sunlight. Belle herself seemed to be glowing with light, and the sight felt familiar to Kaoru somehow. It took him a moment to realize that Belle had the same bright light that Tae had glowed with just before their world had been destroyed. "And 'he' is the master of this castle. The Beast. He's the one who heard the wolves hunting last night, and when he saw you, he saved the two of you."

Kaoru remembered the monster that had surged out of the darkness, fighting the wolves in order to keep him and Rinally safe. "And my friend? Where is she?"

"She was in better shape than you, so she's been up and about for a while. I suppose she's in the library now. I can fetch her, if you'd like."

Kaoru shook his head. It was just enough that he knew she was safe. He pushed back the quilt that covered him and studied his leg. There were no marks or scars where the wolf had bitten him, so he figured Rinally had had enough magic left to heal him fully. He looked up at Belle, who had busied herself now collecting his shoes and socks, which had been set under the table beside the window. "I'd like to go to her, if I could."

"Of course." Belle gave him another brilliant smile and handed Kaoru his socks and shoes when he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "That's a Keyblade wielder for you; always fast to recover and the first back out on the front lines to fight."

Kaoru paused in tying his shoelaces and looked up at Belle. "You know about the Keyblade?"

Belle's smile lessened and became odd. Not bad, just odd. She studied Kaoru for a moment, tapping her lips with her fingertips. "You awakened to it recently, didn't you? Otherwise you wouldn't have asked me that question."

Kaoru felt heat suffuse his cheeks. "It's been a couple of days."

"Ah, I thought so... What happened to your world, if you don't mind me asking?"

Kaoru occupied himself with his shoelaces for a minute so he didn't have to answer right away. He slid off the bed and rose, finding his legs steady and willing to carry his weight. Finally, he looked at Belle and began to talk. He told her about Paradise City, about the Heartless, about the inner voice that had spoken to him about his Keyblade, Guardian. He even told her about Tae, and what he'd seen minutes before his world had been destroyed. Belle listened quietly, sympathy showing on her face. When he finished, Kaoru looked at the ground. "You glowed with the same light. I saw it. You're just like Tae." he said, almost lamely.

Belle smiled. "A Keyblade wielder can innately sense the light within a Princess of Heart. It draws them to her, so that they can protect her. I've never heard of a Keyblade wielder who can see the light a Princess of Heart has inside her. That's an incredible talent. Not even Sora can see the light of a person."

Kaoru thought about that for a minute. He'd met Tae when they were in third grade, and something had just compelled him to go over to the new girl and offer his hand. He'd never known what that something was, but they had become fast friends, and he had always been the first to come to her defense when Tae was being bullied by their other classmates. He hadn't actually ever seen Tae's light until the Heartless came to Paradise City and destroyed it. He looked at Belle and asked, "So you're a Princess of Heart, and you know Sora?"

Belle nodded. "He rescued me when he first started wielding the Keyblade. I and six others were kidnapped and held imprisoned so that the door to Kingdom Hearts could be opened. Sora freed all of us and allowed us to return to our worlds. We've remained in contact ever since."

"So you know where to find him?"

"I have an idea where he might be, but that's all I can give you. If he's not on Destiny Islands, he'll be at Radiant Garden. Unfortunately, I have no way of contacting him, and he doesn't come to visit as often as he used to."

Kaoru frowned. _I guess there's no other choice. If we want to get anywhere, we'll have to go back into that place._ He shivered. _If we do go back there, what's going to happen to us this time, though?_

Belle gestured to the door of the room. "Shall we go collect your friend and get you two something to eat? I'm sure you can't stay long. I wonder why you came to this world, though... it's been relatively peaceful."

Kaoru chose to say nothing and followed Belle out of the room. They emerged into a long hallway decorated with stained glass windows and curio tables topped by azure vases filled with fresh flowers. A red carpet was laid on the stone floor, lending some color to the otherwise grey stone hallways. Kaoru looked around curiously. For a castle that only boasted two residents, it was scrupulously clean. Something moved out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head to look, Kaoru only saw an empty hallway. He frowned and focused on Belle.

"Are you alone here with the Beast?" Kaoru asked, lengthening his stride a bit to catch up to her side.

"Oh, no." laughed Belle. "There are many others here in the castle besides us. You might not see them; they can be very shy around strangers. But they're my greatest friends and companions. Once they get used to you, they'll show themselves."

Kaoru made a soft noise. "Do they distrust strangers that much?"

Belle shook her head, a sad smile dancing upon her face. "No... it's more that the strangers are afraid of them. It's hard to explain... You see, this castle is cursed. Everyone in here, except for me, is under a sorceress' spell. The Beast, the entirety of the castle staff... so they are no longer human-looking on the outside."

Kaoru blinked, confused even more by her explanation. Still, he didn't ask anything more about it, figuring that he would find out when he was meant to. "Can they be freed?"

"Oh, yes. The spell can be broken. In fact, it _has_ been broken, for a long time now. But for some reason, the spell renewed itself, and we can't figure out why."

He heard the sadness in her voice. Kaoru looked up at Belle and noticed lines to her face that he hadn't seen before. It wasn't age that wore on her; it was frustration and sadness. He didn't want to ask what she meant by her words, mostly because he didn't want to know the answer or any details. He was pretty sure he could figure it out for himself, anyway. Why else would a young woman live in a castle with a beast if that beast wasn't actually a man? He kept his mouth shut as they headed down from the hall to a grand staircase and from there into a huge foyer. Belle led him across the shiny floor to another doorway. She held the door open for him and as Kaoru entered, he saw that they were about to enter an even bigger room than the one they were just in.

Bookshelves lined every wall, nook, and cranny. Books of every size littered the shelves, some untouched and dusty, while others showed signs of use. Kaoru squinted at some of the titles, but he couldn't make heads or tails of the language. He recognized some words, but he wasn't sure if they held the same meaning to him as they would to Belle. He followed Belle through the library, gazing with awe at the sheer mass of books. As she passed a table laden with open books, Belle passed her fingers over the pages as if she were caressing a lover. There was longing in her eyes, longing to be able to sit at this table and read those books, which she probably had been doing before she went to play nursemaid to him and Rinally. They headed up a flight of stairs to the second level of the library, and Kaoru was greeted to the sight of Rinally sitting on the floor with her legs folded under her, studying a huge tome with weathered pages. Beside her a small teacup with a chip in its rim leaned over the book, its little eyes running over the words.

Kaoru couldn't help the huge grin that bloomed on his face. The scene was so comical that he could barely hold back the laugh that was tickling its way up his throat.

Rinally looked up at that moment. Her entire face lit up with joy at seeing him, and with a cry of his name, she leaped to her feet and rushed him. Kaoru caught her in a tight hug and the laugh finally escaped, filling the room with sounds of mirth and joy. Rinally joined in, leaving Belle looking at the two with a small, happy smile on her face. The small teacup bounced over to Belle and looked up at Kaoru with wide eyes.

"Oh!" Rin pulled back from Kaoru and knelt, picking up the small teacup gently in both hands. "This is Chip. He's been keeping me company while you took your nap."

Kaoru felt his cheeks color. "I wasn't napping." He nodded at the teacup. "Hello, Chip."

"Hello." replied the teacup shyly. "It's nice to meet you. Rin's told me so much about you. Are you really a Keyblade wielder? Are you here to help us?" His voice was so close to a little boy's, Kaoru wondered if the little teacup wasn't actually a boy, and if he wasn't actually one of the castle's cursed inhabitants.

"Chip," Belle admonished gently. The teacup flushed and dipped his rim in apology.

Kaoru smiled. "It's okay. Yeah, I really am a Keyblade wielder. And I'd like to help you, if I can figure out what's going on."

"I'll help you too." Rinally said with a smile. "After all, I'm his back-up."

This seemed to brighten Chip's mood, so when Belle offered to get them something to eat, Chip volunteered to go with her. As soon as the two left, Rinally turned to Kaoru. Her head tilted as she studied him, looking him up and down, from head to toe.

Kaoru smiled and shrugged. "I'm okay."

"You _do_ look a little better. You slept for a long time. I was starting to wonder if you'd ever wake up." Rin hugged herself, still watching him.

"I think I have you to thank for that. You healed me, didn't you? As we were being saved and maybe a few times after?"

Rin nodded. "I didn't have much left, but I focused everything I had into the healing spells I had left. After the Beast brought us back here, Belle took over caring for you. When I was strong enough, I helped out. You were in a real bad way, Kaoru. I don't think it was from that wolf's bite, or the cold."

Kaoru frowned and tilted his head. Considering he hadn't been aware of what was going on after he'd passed out from the cold and the pain, he didn't have a single clue as to what she was talking about. In his unconscious state, he wasn't aware of anything that had been done to him and he didn't feel any different. He hadn't even dreamed, or, if he had, he couldn't remember them. But if Rin said he'd looked terrible, he was inclined to believe her. "I feel fine." he said at last.

"You definitely look better. I'm wondering if it's because we went in that strange world in between worlds without any protection. I'm not a Keyblade wielder, so I don't think I was as affected as you. But I really think being in that place for a long time messes with you."

"Makes sense," Kaoru agreed. "It's a place of pure darkness with only a little bit of light here and there." He looked at his hand and flexed his fingers. "I think my armor protects me a little bit, but..."

"But?"

"I think it was protecting you, too. It was splitting its protection between the two of us. Only someone with an affinity for darkness might be able to travel those ways without protection."

"Well, if you haven't figured it out already, you're aligned with Light. So Dark-aligned spells and places are going to affect you heavily. Not always badly, of course. But... but we're going to have to go there again, aren't we? If we want to leave here." When Kaoru remained silent, Rinally blew out a sigh. "And what happens if you go down again?"

"Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll get stronger. I just got my Keyblade a few days ago." Kaoru pointed out. Then he pointed to the huge tome on the floor. "What's that?"

"That? Oh." Rin smiled brightly. "It's a spellbook. It's full of magic spells that I've never even heard of before. I've been trying to memorize them, learn them, because, obviously, I'm not gonna be able to take the book with me."

"Did you learn anything else? About this castle, or Belle, or the Beast?"

Rin nodded slowly. "Yeah. Apparently, the Beast is actually a prince, and this is his castle. A long time ago, so Chip told me, the Beast and everyone used to be human. When the Beast refused to help an old woman, she cursed him and the inhabitants of this castle. Turns out the old woman was actually a young woman, and she was a powerful sorceress. She told the Beast that if he didn't learn from his mistakes and find someone who saw the good prince beneath the selfish beast by the time the last petal fell from this enchanted rose, he would forever be stuck that way. Well, Belle came along, and she saw the good prince beneath the selfish beast, and she even fell in love with him. Then she was captured by Maleficent and held prisoner. That's how the Beast met Sora the first time. The second time, Sora helped him fight Xaldin, one of the Organization XIII, and because of Belle's love, the spell broke. And it stayed broke, at least until a few months ago, when the prince suddenly became the Beast again."

Kaoru nodded. That explained why Belle seemed so sad. Her love for the Beast hadn't dwindled in the slightest, so why had the spell reengaged? And it seemed the Beast hadn't regressed into what he'd been before he'd met Belle, either. Kaoru folded his arms over his chest and stared at the floor, thinking. Rinally kept silent, her fingers twined together and held close to her stomach.

Kaoru finally looked up at Rin. "The spell reengaged because someone made it. If it wasn't the Beast and it wasn't Belle, then it has to be someone else."

"But who?" Rinally asked.

"I think that's what we're here for. To find out and stop them."


	10. Chapter 10

Nine - Beast's Castle

"You think someone _made_ the spell anew?" Belle asked, clearly shocked.

Standing behind her, the Beast grasped Belle's shoulders gently and growled lowly in his throat. "Why would someone do that?"

Kaoru shrugged. He didn't have an answer to the Beast's question. Not a satisfactory one, anyway. "Is there someone, anyone, that you might know of that would want to separate the two of you?"

"I know of at least one," Belle said, her voice still holding disbelief. "But he hasn't been much of a bother lately. I haven't gone down into the village much, either, recently, and any supplies we might need, my father brings them to us."

The Beast lowered his head and growled something softly into Belle's ear. Her lips pursed for a second before they thinned into a line and she slowly shook her head. He snorted but held tighter to Belle.

"Either way," Rin said, "I've poured over all the spellbooks I was able to find, and there's nothing detailing the original spell. The sorceress, whoever she was, made the spell with a single purpose in mind. It was always meant to be broken and stay broken, provided its parameters were met. Once they were, that should've been the end of it."

"But, obviously, the spell didn't stay broken." Kaoru said, gesturing to the Beast. "But if it wasn't because of anything you've done, then it has to be someone on the outside. Someone who wants you two to break up. Someone who wants you to remain a Beast rather than a man."

The Beast growled, but Belle set her hands on his and he calmed immediately. She looked up at the Beast and smiled. "Beast or man, he is still the one I love and the one I want to live the rest of my life with." She focused on Kaoru and Rinally then. "Why would anyone want to hurt us, though?"

"I don't know if they mean to hurt you. But there's a reason Rin and I ended up here." Kaoru replied. "Or at least, why I'm here. And I think it's because of this spell. Rin told me something that I think gave us a clue: I'm aligned with Light. My Keyblade, Guardian, is also aligned with Light. That's where all my power comes from."

Rin sat forward, pointing a finger at him. "That's right! I said you were in a bad way, that the darkness affected you more than it had me. That makes sense, considering you're primarily Light-oriented. By yourself, your armor probably would've shielded you from the worst of the effects, but since you were also shielding me, you were hurt more than we realized."

Beast frowned. "Sora and Riku were never affected this way."

"I don't think Sora and Riku are as sensitive as Kaoru is." Belle said. "He saw the light contained within me, within my heart. He can see other people's light, too. If he's that sensitive to light, then he'd be incredibly sensitive to darkness. Which must mean..."

"Which must mean there's an incredible source of darkness here," Beast growled. "Powerful enough to affect you, Kaoru, even though you weren't close enough to it."

Kaoru nodded. "If that's the case, then my body needed time to adjust. I only recently awakened to Guardian, so I'm not as strong as Sora and Riku yet."

"But you're okay now." Rin pointed out. "Which means you either got stronger or whoever's controlling this darkness is able to adjust the ebb and flow as needed."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Either way," Beast growled, ignoring the way Rin smirked at Kaoru, "there's someone within my realm using the power of darkness, and I want to know why."

Belle gripped the Beast's furry forearms tightly, a frightened look passing quickly over her face. "If it's just to make the two of us end our marriage, then that's something we can easily deal with on our own." she said. "But if it's for another purpose..."

"We can find that out." Kaoru said, noticing the way the Beast looked fondly upon Belle and held her slightly closer. "If it's for another reason, then that has to be why we ended up here, on this world. We'll figure out what's going on."

Rinally grinned brilliantly at the Beast and Belle. "But, you know, maybe we could get some warmer clothes?"

Belle burst out laughing, a sound that pealed beautifully through the kitchen. The Beast visibly relaxed, his leonine maw twitching as though he wanted to smile as well. "I'll see what we have. We don't get very many visitors your age, and rarely in winter. We might have something. And if not, I can make something for you." Still laughing, Belle left the dining room, leaving the Beast, Kaoru, and Rin alone.

As soon as Belle was gone, the Beast focused on Kaoru and Rin, his expression serious. "Below this castle is a village. It's quaint and quiet, and rarely do the villagers give us trouble anymore. Belle used to live there, until she came to live with me here. If you're going to discover anything, that may be the best place to look."

Rinally and Kaoru looked at each other for a minute, then returned their gazes to the Beast. "If we find anything, you'll be the first to know." Kaoru promised.

"In that case, I will see if I can't make your journey a little safer."

After the Beast left the dining room, Rinally leaned closer to Kaoru and whispered, "I hope that means he's going to chase away the wolves."

Kaoru smiled a bit, but it was humorless. "I hope so."

oooo

After Kaoru and Rinally ate their fill of the wonderfully cooked meal (Kaoru poked his head into the kitchen and offered his thanks to the empty room that looked too clean and thought he heard a 'thank you' from the oven) the two teenagers found Belle again. She had explored the unused rooms of the castle, no doubt with help, and managed to find some articles of clothing that would help Kaoru and Rin survive the cold and snow as they made their way down to the village. She gave Rin a pair of dark leggings that would at least help keep the girl's skin from freezing, and she gave them both two long, dark cloaks with deep hoods that would keep them warm and would hide their identities until they chose to reveal them.

"I doubt anyone will question your clothing," Belle said. "They've never questioned Sora. Your hair, though, Rin, they might stare at."

Rin reached up and curled a few locks of pink hair around her fingers. "I guess as long as I keep my hood up, it won't matter."

Belle smiled and handed them two packs. They were heavy, filled with supplies that had probably been scrounged up from somewhere while the two had been eating. Kaoru hefted his onto his shoulder and looked at Belle as Rin struggled to get hers comfortably snug on her back. "We'll be back soon." he said.

Belle nodded. "Just be careful. You should be okay if you follow the road down to the village. Travel quickly, and you should make it there just before dark. I've given you some coins so you can get a room at the inn."

"Right. Don't want to run into the wolves again."

"Just come back safely."

Belle escorted them to the castle's courtyard, and then to the gate. She held it open for them and watched as they headed down the trail. Halfway, Kaoru and Rin turned to wave at Belle, who smiled and waved in return. Then she shut the gate and secured it, though she didn't move away from the barrier until the two teenagers were out of sight.

For a while, Kaoru and Rinally walked in silence side by side. The snow on the road crunched under their feet, and their breath steamed the air in puffy clouds. They kept the hoods of their cloaks up around their faces to protect their skin from the cold, and kept the rest of the cloaks coiled tight around their bodies. Traveling on the road was certainly much easier than hiking through the snowy woods, but by the time they managed to spot the village, the sun was already starting to sink below the horizon.

"How much farther do you think it is?" Rinally asked when they paused to drink some water and have a light snack.

Kaoru looked toward the town and then back up at the sky, judging the sun's movement toward the horizon. "Maybe a few more hours. We'll get there just before dark, like Belle said."

"Do you think it'll be dangerous?"

"What will be?"

"The village. I mean, there's got to be a reason why we're here, right? If it's not in Beast's castle, then it has to be in the village."

Kaoru looked at Rin and canted his head slightly to the side. "Maybe. I mean, we don't know what we're walking into, if you really want to get technical. The best we can do is go in and observe for a while."

"Do you think we'll run into Heartless?"

"Maybe. I haven't seen any around and I haven't sensed any, but that doesn't mean they're not around."

"Maybe we'll run into Sora. Wouldn't that be great?"

Kaoru smiled. "Yeah, but my luck's never been that good. Belle sounded like she hadn't seen Sora in a long time."

"I wonder what he's doing." Rinally looked up to the sky, frowning slightly. "I wonder where he could be."

"That's what we're going to find out, as we do duty-stuff along the way." Kaoru tilted his head the other way in askance. Rinally nodded and shoved her water and snack away into her pack, and minutes later, they were heading down the road once more.

They reached the village just as the sky burst into sunset colors. The first thing they did was find the inn, where Kaoru managed to secure them a room. They took their packs up to the room and stuffed them under the single bed. Kaoru didn't even have to ask; Rinally flopped onto the bed and complained (quietly) about how hard mattress was and how scratchy the blanket was before she pointedly told him she wasn't sharing. Kaoru at least had enough sense not to point out that she was still going to sleep on the bed even though she was displeased with it.

By the time they headed downstairs to the common room to try and get something warm to eat, the few patrons that had been in there when they walked in had suddenly tripled. It was loud with dozens of voices, all laughing or talking. Hands raised mugs and smacked them together in a toast before the draught was all but gulped down. Kaoru and Rinally managed to find an empty table in a far corner and made sure their backs were to the wall before they focused on examining the room.

"Looks like this is the place to be after dark," Rinally commented quietly.

"Looks like." Kaoru agreed. He studied the people gathered by the roaring fireplace and he studied the people gathered by the long bar where kegs of frothing ale were being tapped into deep mugs and served to the men waiting. He studied the people sitting at the tables, nursing meals or drinks, and he studied the people who came and went after having their drinks. It all looked so normal.

Then the door opened and a tiny man burst through yelling, "Make way! Make way for Gaston!"

Kaoru and Rinally glanced at each other as the conversations suddenly stopped and the few young women in the tavern suddenly lowered the necklines of their dresses and pushed up their assets. As soon as that had happened, in walked a tall man with thick black hair, a strong jaw and proud chin, and thickly muscled arms straining against a red shirt. He looked at the young women and grinned; in an instant they swooned and longing filled their eyes.

"That must be Gaston," Rinally said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Must be." Kaoru agreed.

Gaston moved into the tavern and spread his arms wide, grinning widely and showing perfect white teeth. "My friends!" he said, his voice deep and rolling in the silence. "I've discovered the cause of the disappearances after dark! You won't believe your eyes at first, but I have definite proof for you!"

The little man who had first announced Gaston quickly moved to the man's side, holding a covered box high above his head. With a flourish, Gaston grabbed the box and held it high. "In this box is the very creature responsible for all of the disappearances plaguing our peaceful little town." He placed his hand on the cloth and grinned almost conspiratorially. "And you'll never believe where I discovered it, or who is responsible."

Kaoru tensed in his seat and quickly grabbed Rinally's wrist. She looked at him, startled, then gripped his hand back. Whether it was to reassure him or to stop him from grinding the bones of her wrist together from the force of his hold, he didn't know. But he could sense what was under that cover, and he knew exactly what Gaston was going to reveal. A minute later, he was proven right, as Gaston whipped off the cover and held the cage to the ceiling of the tavern, letting everyone get a good look at the Heartless Shadow contained within. People gasped and spoke in low tones amongst themselves, but all eyes were riveted to that cage and the small Heartless that peered out with large butter-yellow eyes.

"This beast is what's responsible for the people who have gone missing! I've seen it work with my own eyes!" Gaston crowed to the crowd. "And it comes from the castle on the mountain! And their leader is the Beast!"


	11. Chapter 11

Ten - Beast's Castle, Village

Rinally almost shot to her feet to shout "That's not true!", but Kaoru's grip stopped her from moving or making a sound. She looked at him, startled, but he only shook his head. She lowered herself back to her seat and hunched a little, pushing closer to Kaoru so she could whisper into his ear.

"We can't let them hurt Beast," Rinally hissed.

"I know."

"So what do we do? It's too late to run back and warn them."

"I don't think he's planning on going anywhere tonight, except maybe to his own place." Kaoru eyed Gaston, watching the man scare the young women by thrusting the cage at them. Everyone else had erupted into conversation, accusations flying this way and that about the Beast and his association with the creature in Gaston's cage. "We can follow him. Something's not right about any of this."

"Kaoru, do you think we might have to fight?"

"Maybe. And it'd probably be a good idea to make sure our stuff is with us, too. I hate to say it, but we just might have to run back to the castle tonight."

"I thought so." Rinally blew out a sigh and frowned as she followed his gaze to the cage held tightly in Gaston's hands. "I wonder how he caught it."

"However he did it, it couldn't have been easy. I'm betting he had help." Kaoru nodded toward the small man hovering by Gaston's side. "Of the two, it might be easiest to question him. 'Cept we're not going to be able to here."

"Got it. Wait and watch, then ambush him when he's alone."

"Do you have any spells that might work?"

Rinally smiled. "Of course I do. I can be a scary witch if I want to be, and from the looks of things, a scary witch is what I'll have to be."

Kaoru returned her smile. "It's good to know I don't have to just count on Guardian to get the answers I want."

"Don't be smart."

The two teenagers listened intently as Gaston described his harrowing adventure in the wild to capture the Heartless in gross detail. He even acted it out, flexing his muscles and making the young women swoon, standing on tables and very nearly bursting into song about it. They learned that he had been searching for the missing people - very likely victims of the Heartless - in the forest late one night. He had followed the tracks of people and of wolves and had discovered the Beast hovering over what looked like a fresh kill. Rinally and Kaoru exchanged glances with each other. It didn't take much to figure out that Gaston had probably seen the Beast rescuing them and had assumed that, instead of rescuing them as he did, he'd eaten them. When Gaston had investigated the area to find any evidence, he discovered several small monsters roaming about. They had attacked him, of course, and he had bravely fought them off, of course, and had managed to capture only one of them. He pled his case before the villagers gathered in the tavern, incensing them against the Beast, and told them the only way they were going to rescue their loved ones, or get them back, would be to destroy the Beast.

It was hours before the tavern began to empty out. It was too late to do anything but go home and plan the assault, or simply fall into bed and sleep off the drunken haze. Kaoru noticed that many patrons of the tavern wobbled when they stood and wove when they walked, clearly drunk. He doubted that any of them would remember Gaston's words to them when they woke up the next day. Not that Gaston would allow them to forget, Kaoru surmised, turning his gaze back to the man who was currently enveloped in a lady-blanket, hugging two girls tight to his sides as he laughed at something one of them said.

"What should we do?" Rinally asked quietly. "If we stay here any longer, we're going to get noticed."

Kaoru glanced around; she was right. The more the tavern emptied out, the closer they were to being noticed by someone. He didn't want lose sight of Gaston, but at the same time, he didn't want to be caught and cornered by the man either. "Let's go back up to our room and get our stuff. I doubt the innkeeper will care if we slip out early. The room's paid, after all."

"Are we spending the night out in the cold?" Rin asked. "Or do you think we'll be able to come back here after we follow that jerk?"

"I don't know. But we'd better be prepared for anything all the same."

The two teenagers slipped out of their corner as more people began to rise from their seats and stumble their way home. Still wrapped tightly in their cloaks and hoods, Kaoru and Rinally quickly hurried upstairs, taking two at a time. When they reached their room, Kaoru stood guard in the hallway as Rin slipped inside to gather their things. It didn't take her more than five minutes to get everything and slip out, handing Kaoru his pack. He took it and shouldered it, and then the two headed back down stairs, avoiding the common room as they sought a way out of the inn. They snuck through the kitchen, avoiding the innkeeper's wife as they did so, then slipped quietly out the back and into the frigid deep night air. Their breath made clouds around their heads as they trudged through the ankle-deep snow as quietly as they could, coming around to the front of the inn to wait.

Gaston strolled smoothly out of the inn maybe thirty minutes later, carrying the cage with the Heartless Shadow inside. Beside him came the little man, huffing and puffing to try and keep up. Kaoru and Rin hung back in the shadows, watching the two and trying to hear what, if anything, was being said.

"Le Fou," Gaston said, near pitching the cage at the smaller man, "this may be a little harder than I originally believed."

Le Fou, the small man, caught the cage mere inches from his huge nose and juggled it from hand to hand before catching it more firmly between his hands. "How so, Gaston? I think it's brilliant. _You're_ brilliant."

"I am, aren't I?" Gaston preened in the darkness, his face thrown into shadow by the lantern-light. "I could see it in their eyes. I almost had them eating out of the palm of my hand."

"They did say it probably wouldn't be that simple." Le Fou pointed out. His short legs took twice the steps Gaston's did, but he kept up with the man as he started walking away. Kaoru and Rin quickly followed to keep them within earshot, ducking into alleys and hiding around corners to avoid being seen.

"I know they did." Gaston sniffed. "It may take a couple of days touting the story before they believe the Beast is the one behind these attacks and disappearances. Once they do, I can finally get Belle back. That is, if _they_ keep their side of the bargain."

"You think they won't?"

"If they know what's good for them, they will. All it would take is for me to say I was wrong - who wouldn't believe the great Gaston could be wrong for once in his life? - and rather than the Beast being behind the attacks, I'll say that they are. After all, they're the ones experimenting with those little black creatures."

Kaoru and Rinally glanced at each other, their expressions grim. They continued to follow Gaston and Le Fou as the two threaded their way through the empty streets of the village, continuing to listen to the conversation. They didn't learn anything more. They ducked into an alley as Gaston and Le Fou walked up to a house and entered it, closing the door behind them. Kaoru crept closer to the house with Rin right behind him, trying to see if he could hear anything more. All he heard was muffled noises, but nothing discernible. Shaking his head at Rin, she nodded, and they quickly retraced their steps back to the alley where they could get out of sight.

"Okay," Rin said, rubbing her hands together to warm them, "so what did we learn?"

"Gaston is working with whoever's experimenting with the Heartless," Kaoru said. "And whoever they are, they have to be the ones using those black rods. But he never named them, so right now, I guess they're just They, capital T."

"Sure, we can go with that."

"Also, Gaston wants Belle. And he wants her so badly he's willing to do anything to get her."

"Which means removing the Beast." Rin pointed out.

"Right." Kaoru glanced toward Gaston's residence, frowning. "And They are helping him somehow, and that somehow must be involving the Heartless."

"But the Heartless can't get into the castle because of Belle."

They looked at each other with wide eyes a minute later, the shock of realization rushing through them.

Keeping her voice to a mere hiss, Rinally said, "They're looking for a way to get to Belle, but they can't get to her because she's safe in Beast's castle, which is protected not just by him, but her light as well! So They have to get someone _outside_ the castle to breach it! So They gave Gaston use of the Heartless, all of which probably have that creepy black rod inside them, and even if he's _not_ the one making the villagers disappear, he's definitely covering it up!"

"Because if he can convince the villagers the Beast is behind it all, they'll form a mob and go to attack the castle to get rid of the Beast!" Kaoru hissed in reply. Rinally nodded vehemently. "But because they're human, the Beast won't hurt them! Belle won't let him hurt them."

"But the castle will be breached, allowing Them inside, and allowing Them to get Belle. Gaston might think They're going to let him have her, but he's being used by Them."

"So why would They want Belle?" Rin asked. "I mean, there's gotta be easier Princesses of Heart to snatch."

Kaoru shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm betting it has something to do with those black rods. They can control the Heartless with them without actually being around to command them. If the rods are darkness and can be used to control darkness, maybe they want to experiment with something that can control light. In order to do that, they'd need someone with a great affinity for it, which would either be a Keyblade user like me or a Princess."

Rin smirked, but there was no humor behind it. "And They figure, good luck getting a Keyblade user with a penchant for light, so let's get ourselves a lady?"

Despite himself, Kaoru choked on an aborted laugh. "I guess so. Don't you think a girl or woman would be easier to control than someone like me?"

"I guess." Rinally grumped. She folded her arms tightly around her, pulling her cloak closer to save her body heat from escaping. "So, now the question is, do we sneak back into the inn or do we try to make it back to the castle in the dark?"

"We'd never make it back before we either became wolf food or froze, so let's go back to the inn. We can head back in the morning." Kaoru replied. "Once we warn Belle and the Beast, we can try to prepare the castle for the invasion. Because it's either going to be human or it's going to be Heartless, so we need to be ready for both."

Rin nodded and quickly began to head back the way they had come. They moved quietly through the empty streets, trying to step in the footprints they had left behind on their journey after Gaston, so that Rin could cast a quick but tiny aero spell after them and erase any sign of them being there. They reached the inn and quietly tried the front door. Finding it locked, they headed around to the back to try the kitchen door. It, too, was locked. Kaoru gestured for Rin to step back and summoned Guardian to his hand, holding the tip of the weapon up to the door. He concentrated on turning the lock and Guardian quickly obliged him with a little burst of sparks. Rinally pushed the door open silently as Kaoru dismissed his weapon, and they entered the inn, locking the door behind them. They padded quietly back up to their room, slipping inside like thieves.

Like before, Rinally quickly claimed the bed, toeing off her shoes so she could slide under the blankets. Kaoru made himself a nest again on the floor and used his pack as a pillow. He closed his eyes, listening to the soft rhythm of his breathing mingling with Rin's. Only a second later, he opened his eyes, shifted onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Something didn't seem right, but he couldn't figure out what it was, and it was bothering him enough that he couldn't find rest. He kept staring at the ceiling of the inn as if that would give him an answer. The room remained quiet, except for their breathing, and the ceiling remained unchanged even in the darkness.

Kaoru eventually curled up on his side and forced his eyes to shut. Somewhere between that heartbeat and the next, he finally found sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Eleven - Beast's Castle, Village

That morning, Kaoru and Rinally gathered their things and slipped out of the inn after nicking some fruit and blueberry muffins out of the kitchen. They headed toward Gaston's house as they ate, having already decided to check the place out while the man and his little cohort were out. If they were in, then they were going to wait until they left, and one would stay to search the house while the other followed Gaston, with the intention of finding some answers without being caught or noticed. Kaoru found himself volunteered for that particular job, if only because he had Guardian and could easily defeat the Heartless should they make an appearance to attack him. He didn't argue with Rinally on that point. He personally didn't want her anywhere near Gaston, and he couldn't really figure out a plausible explanation for that, other than Gaston was a creep.

Fortunately, Rinally agreed with him, though her choice of words was much more pungent and succinct.

They snuck up to the closest window of Gaston's house and peered inside, trying not to attract attention as they did so. Rin shook her head slowly. "I don't see anyone."

"It's early enough that only bakers and farmers would be up."

"Yeah, but not for much longer. Should we take the chance?"

Kaoru considered the ramifications of either choice for a long time. If they broke in and found Gaston and Le Fou still sleeping, it was a big risk to hang around and try searching the place anyway. If they weren't inside, then there was too much of a chance they could be caught by the very people they were trying to avoid. Still, they couldn't hang around and wait all day, just loitering in alleys and hoping that maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to catch a break one way or another. They needed information, and they needed it quickly if they wanted to have even the remotest chance of reaching the castle by nightfall tonight.

"We might as well give it a shot," Kaoru said, his voice low. "If we hear anything, though, we're leaving. We need to get back to the castle and warn Belle and the Beast. That has to be our top priority."

Rin agreed and began to head around to the back of the building, looking for a secluded window or even a back door, somewhere out of sight of the main street. If they were going to use Guardian as the means to get them inside, Kaoru didn't want anyone seeing them do it. He didn't want to explain to anyone why he had a Keyblade, who they were, and whether or not they were breaking and entering on Sora's orders. Their search proved fruitless, however, except for a small window on the back left side of the house that was higher than either of them could reach. The flutter of curtains proved it was open.

Chewing her lip, Rin finally said, "I can cast a float spell on one of us... that person would be stuck searching the house alone, though."

Kaoru frowned at this, disliking it. "We don't even know what's waiting for us in there, if anything."

"If we want answers, it's our only choice."

"Who goes then?"

Rin smiled. "I'll Row Sham Bow you for it."

Kaoru shook his head. "If you want it so badly, go for it. It's your magic anyway. Just... just be careful, okay, Rin?"

"Aren't I always?"

Since silence seemed the wiser answer, Kaoru kept his mouth shut. Rinally sighed and quietly cast the float spell upon herself. It was easier said than done, though, for she had never really practiced moving around while weightless. As she rose up from the ground, she used the house itself to guide her toward that window, grasping the edges of the window to stop her ascent before she went any higher and was seen. Then she looked down at Kaoru, finding him staring up at her. He was concentrating on her face, an anxious look on his. She gave him a reassuring smile, then eased herself into the window, cutting off the float spell as she did so.

It was only after her feet lightly touched the floor inside the window that she realized she was wearing a skirt. Her cheeks flared crimson. _Good thing I'm wearing leggings right now, otherwise I'd have to kill him for looking up my skirt._ She crouched low, pushing all thoughts of hurting Kaoru for something that was actually her fault to the back of her mind. Rin looked around; she was in a bedroom that looked to have been left unused for a while. The bed itself didn't look like it had been slept in, and most of the furniture - of which there was little - looked quite dusty. She shifted and rose, tiptoeing toward the bedroom's door, trying to be as quiet as possible as she opened the door just wide enough to peer into the hall without actually poking her head out.

Quiet.

 _Almost too quiet._ Rin smirked at her own little joke, then eased the door open wider so she could slip out into the hall. There was no sound, so Rin walked on the balls of her feet to minimize her own noise as she left the bedroom and went on her exploratory mission. Despite being a two-story house, it was actually quite small. _Of course, that could be because all the walls are covered with dead animal heads._ Rin dryly observed as she almost came nose to nose with a moose head jutting outward from the wall she was sneaking by. Besides the room she had come out of, there were three more doors on the second floor. Pressing her ear to each, Rin listened for any noise before she entered the rooms, exploring them. She found more stuffed animal heads on walls or stuffed statues of animals on dressers and bureaus. She stuck out her tongue in disgust, but figured it fit the man whose house this was.

She didn't find anything upstairs, not even in the bedroom that obviously belonged to Gaston. At least, she assumed it belonged to him, because there was a great big portrait on one wall of the man shirtless, muscles rippling, luxurious black hair flowing in the wind, as he stood upon on a rock ledge holding a rifle with a woman who looked suspiciously like Belle clinging to his leg.

"Yep," Rin whispered to herself, "definitely an A-class narcissistic dick-weed."

She left the room exactly as she found it, and headed toward the stairs, still moving quietly. She tiptoed down the stairs, often taking them one at a time to minimize her sounds further. When she reached the downstairs hall, she crouched at the bottom of the stairs and used the banister like it would shield her from sight. She glanced down the hall, left and right, noting two openings that led into wider rooms and an opening further down that probably led to the kitchen. She waited, listening, but heard nothing. She wished she could alert Kaoru, to tell him that it was definitely likely she was completely alone within the house, but there was no need to take risks. Even if she couldn't hear anything but her own heartbeat in her ears, it didn't mean that she was, truly, alone.

Rin rose and headed toward the first of the two large openings, the one on the left side just before the stairs started. This room was a giant trophy room, displaying more animals killed for Gaston's entertainment. She noted a distinct lack of books and more than what was necessary for firearms. She picked lightly through what cabinets and drawers there were, but she found no papers detailing an evil mastermind's plan or even the cage the Heartless Shadow had been in. Before she left this room for the next, she made sure to put everything back the way she had found it. The next room she came to was furnished for entertaining, with long couches and cushioned chairs and card tables that held, what else, more stuffed trophies and a few paintings of Gaston in various heroic stances. She stuck out her tongue to display her disgust and quietly entered the room.

She froze about two steps in, staring wide-eyed at the lump of Le Fou on the floor and the even bigger lump of bare-chested Gaston sprawled on one of the couches. Both were snoring heavily enough she probably could've come in with a brass band and they wouldn't have so much as twitched. She was about to retreat when she saw the Heartless's cage sitting on a coffee table just on the other side of Le Fou, along with three tiny black rods.

She knew that she should run, that she should get out and back to Kaoru so they could return to the castle. She knew that the lay of the room was too good to be true - the cage and the rods were placed so that they would be a tempting target to take. Le Fou was positioned just enough that the would-be thief would have to step over him in order to get to the prize. This meant he was either pretending to be asleep, waiting for someone to try and be cute and steal their "leverage", or the table itself was booby-trapped to wake them both and catch the thief red-handed. Mulling over her options, neither of which were really any good, Rinally studied the cage and rods for a long time, trying to figure out different ways she could reach them without risking herself.

 _If I leave them here, then these two morons have all the ammunition they need to incite a mob to attack the castle. If I take them, then they might just lead us to their mysterious benefactors to try and get new tools. But also if I take them, Kaoru and I could inadvertently invite Them into the castle if we keep them._ Rin inhaled and exhaled as quietly as she could. What to do? What should she do? She kept turning the question over and over in her mind. Then a loud crash sounded, making her jump. So did Gaston and Le Fou, jerking awake and sitting up so abruptly that Le Fou actually cracked his forehead on the table he was sleeping beside. Rin squeaked in surprise and ducked behind the couch closest to her, huddling as close to it as possible in as small a ball as possible to keep from being seen.

The crash sounded again, and she realized someone was knocking at the door. It was polite, if forceful, but the longer it went unanswered the more forceful and less polite it became.

"What are you waiting for?" growled Gaston. "Go answer it!"

Muttering under his breath, Le Fou rolled to his feet and bumbled past the couch. Rin scooted toward the opposite side, but he was too busy yawning widely to see her. Gaston stretched and made inappropriate noises as he got to his feet. Rin saw him pulling on his plaid red shirt as he inspected the cage, poking his finger into the stuff the Heartless Shadow was made of as if to make sure it was still alive. He straightened as two sets of footsteps echoed toward them, and as he moved around to greet the stranger, Rinally quickly crawled on her hands and knees toward another couch, slipping behind it just before the footsteps reached a crescendo.

"What's taking so long?"

Rin pressed the palm of her right hand to her mouth and overlapped it with the left. She scrunched up as tightly as she could, trying to remain as still as possible. The voice was gruff, male. There was a slight accent to it as well, an accent that made the 'what' sound like 'wahss'.

Gaston snorted. "What's taking so long is that the villagers aren't convinced yet that the Beast is truly a threat."

"You're working on changing that, yes?" asked the male. "I believe you made us a promise, in return for us getting you what you want."

"Which you haven't delivered on."

"Don't test us, boy. This is a two-way road. You get us what we want, you get what you want. You want this woman, you get us into the castle. Until that happens, we're just as powerless as you."

Rinally heard Gaston move and a minute later, she heard him pick up the cage and rattle it around. She could only assume he was shaking it at the visitor.

"This thing, this Heartless as you call it," Gaston said snidely, "isn't as impressive when its in a cage. No one's seen these things in action. With each telling of the tale I get a few more to my side, but it's not enough."

"So use the tools we've given you. I've shown you how. What you want isn't simply going to fall into your lap. You have to work for it. I'm sure you're familiar with the term."

Whatever Gaston said in reply was lost beneath the growl that came from him. Clearly he wasn't used to being talked down to or treated like he was an inept child.

"We are very patient," said the mysterious man, "but even we have limits. If you cannot help us, then we'll move on to someone who can. I didn't think our arrangement with you was a difficult one to carry out."

"Don't speak to me as if I'm a fool!" snapped Gaston. Rin heard him stomp toward the coffee table and swipe something up. It had to have been one of the rods, because she heard the soft thump-thump of objects hitting the bear-skin carpet on the floor. "I _will_ get you what you want. Then Belle is mine, and you can do whatever you want to with that monster."

"See to it, then."

Three pairs of footsteps suddenly began to move, stalking down the hall toward the front door. Rinally held her breath as she heard the door open and then slam. She heard nothing after that. Yet she didn't dare move for fear someone was waiting for her to do just that. She counted to ten three times before she uncurled her body and started to slowly rise. She was alone in the room, and like she'd expected, the cage was gone. Two of the three black rods were lying on the floor, but the third was missing. _He must've grabbed that one and knocked the rest to the ground. Why wouldn't he pick them up?_

Rin tiptoed around the couch and moved toward the two black rods, moving as quickly as she dared. She crouched, hand hovering over the black rods. She could feel the malevolent energy rolling off them in waves; she swallowed hard and reached down, picking them each up quickly and holding them in a tight fist. Then she hurried out of the room, pausing at the threshold to look toward the front door. She quickly hurried up the stairs, struggling to keep quiet as she did so, then hurried back to the room she had originally entered from.

"Kaoru!" Rinally stuck her head out the window. "Kaoru, I'm coming down!"

He looked up at her and nodded. He took a few steps backwards to give her a clear space. Rin didn't bother to cast a float spell on herself this time. She got up on the windowsill and had one leg out the window before a hand lashed out to grab her hair, yanking her head back hard.

"Rinally!" Kaoru yelled.


	13. Chapter 13

Twelve - Beast's Castle, Village

Kaoru watched helplessly as Rinally was suddenly yanked off balance from the windowsill. One of her legs was still hooked on the outside of the house, keeping her from being pulled back all the way inside. He could hear her yelling, but he couldn't figure out a way to get to her. There was a masculine curse and she appeared in the window again, hauling herself up so she had two feet on the windowsill now. Without preamble, Rinally flung herself out the window and into open air, her left fist closed tightly. Kaoru saw Le Fou stick his head out the window, his cheeks bright red and his eyes filled with pained tears. He pointed down at Rinally and Kaoru and yelled, "Thieves! Thieves! Somebody stop them!"

Rinally hit the ground, letting her knees buckle so she could better absorb the impact of a two-story drop, and rolled head over heels. When she popped back to her feet, she grabbed Kaoru's wrist and pulled him toward the street. He didn't argue; both of them began a madcap dash for the main road and the exit to the village.

People stared at them as they passed, startled by the two teenagers running so quickly by and confused by the cries of 'thief'. By the time they realized the flight of the two teenagers and the yells were related, it was too late for people to stop them. Kaoru and Rinally kept running, not daring to look back. They didn't dare stop when people began to cry out, instead pouring on all of the speed that they could muster. Houses and people flashed by, blurred faces in their haste to escape. At last they reached the end of the village and burst out into the wilderness, pounding up the road toward Beast's Castle. They didn't stop running until they were about halfway between the village and the forest, finally slowing until they came to a stop.

Kaoru bent over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Rinally did the same, crouching as she hung her head low, eyes closed tight. With her free hand, she reached up and rubbed the back of her head, running her fingers through her pink hair as she tried to make sure nothing had been ripped out.

"What," Kaoru panted, "the hell was that?"

"That little imp _grabbed_ me!" Rinally hissed, opening her eyes to glare up at Kaoru. She rose, paced forward a few steps, then turned back to face him. "So I punched him in the balls."

Kaoru's eyes went a little wide as he regarded her. "No wonder you were able to escape so quickly."

"Yeah, well, it's hard to fight someone when you're bent over backwards, even if that person is smaller than you." She kicked a snow-covered rock in frustration and put her hands on her hips. "I thought I was alone. I heard them all leave, but I guess that imp stayed behind or came back or something."

"Are you okay, though?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Did you learn anything?"

"Oh!" Rinally grinned and presented her left fist, turning it over, palm up, before she opened her hand to reveal the two black rods she had stolen. "Recognize these?"

Kaoru stared at the rods for a heartbeat, then flicked his eyes up to Rin's face. "Where did you get those?"

Rinally pointed back over his shoulder toward the village. "Gaston had them. More accurately, he had three. I heard most of the conversation between him and the guy he's helping. Apparently, the guy - and I know it was a guy because his voice was deep and old - is working with some sort of organization because he kept saying 'us'. Also, he's working with Gaston to get into the castle. He promised Gaston Belle if he helped get him into Beast's castle."

Kaoru frowned at the rods in her hand as he listened to her describe her encounter, then flicked his blue eyes back up to her face. "What's in the castle that they want so badly?"

Rin shrugged and closed her fist, moving to put the black rods into her backpack. "I don't know. But Gaston is definitely up to no good, and his prize for his cooperation is Belle. He also said that once he had her, the guy could do whatever he wanted to with Beast."

"So is it Beast they're after?"

"If it is, why? What could he have that these guys could want? He's not a Heartless."

"No, he's not." Rinally frowned. "But whatever it is, it can't be good. I think we should get back as fast as we can. Maybe Belle might have some answers for us."

"Right." Kaoru fell into step with Rin. They kept their pace brisk and moved as fast as they could through the snow, glancing over their shoulders now and then to look for pursuit. It wasn't like they were moving covertly. Anyone who chose to follow them would have an easy time of finding their tracks and knowing where they were headed. Kaoru paused mid-step when the castle came within sight and looked at Rin. "You said Gaston had three rods, but you took two, right?"

"Right."

"So you think he took the third?"

"Yeah."

Kaoru frowned. "What do you think he's going to do with it?"

Rin stopped and looked at her friend. "I don't know. But he took the Heartless Shadow with him, so I guess we'll find out soon, right?"

Kaoru's lips spread into a thin line and he renewed his walk toward the castle. Rin hurried to catch up with him, unsure about what her friend was thinking about. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't going to be good.

Belle was waiting for them by the gate, a relieved smile on her face. Beast loomed in the open castle doors, watching from the sheltered porch. They must've been warned of their approach, Kaoru decided, because neither seemed out of breath or on edge about unexpected guests. He lifted a hand and waved to Belle. She waved back and opened the gate for them. Kaoru and Rin entered, pausing in the courtyard to wait for Belle to close and lock the gate again. Only then did Beast leave the castle and lumber toward them, grunting a greeting to the teenagers.

"Did you learn anything?" Belle asked, pulling her cloak tighter around her.

"Yeah, we did," Kaoru replied, "and none of it's good."

"What's happening down in the village?" Beast rumbled, almost growling.

Rinally looked up at him. "Well, Heartless have attacked some of the villagers. But," she waited for him to get done snarling before continuing, "but it looks like it was intentional."

"Intentional?" Belle asked, her eyes going wide.

Kaoru nodded. "Do you know someone by the name of Gaston?"

Belle and Beast exchanged looks. Beast's lips curled up to reveal sharp fangs and a low growl issued forth from his throat. Belle moved to grip his arm, almost hugging him. He half-curled his body around her, as if he were protecting her. Belle looked at Kaoru with a sad expression and said, "We know him. He wants me to marry him, and I've always refused. I thought by coming to live in the castle, it would deter him enough that he would set his sights on someone else."

"Well, it doesn't look like that happened." Kaoru replied. "He seems to have thrown his lot in with a guy who's related to these black rods that can control the Heartless."

"I heard him say that he was trying to rally the villagers to come attack the castle. If he can get inside, and can get this guy inside, you'll be his." Rinally added. Belle's face went a shade too pale. Beast began growling low in his throat. "But the mystery guy, he wants you, Beast."

He stopped growling almost immediately. His eyes went a little wide and he looked down at Belle, who gave him a confused look. "Why?" Beast asked.

"I don't know." Rinally answered. "But it's definitely nothing good."

"We won't know until it actually happens," Kaoru said softly. "But if we can keep them from ever getting inside, we can prevent them from getting what they want. Both of them. If we can fortify whatever defenses this place has, then Rin and I can go looking for Gaston. If we can get that last rod away from him, along with the Heartless Shadow, maybe his helper will come out. If he does, maybe I can get some answers from him."

"Do you think you can find him and stop him before something happens?" Belle asked.

"Won't know until we try." Kaoru replied.

Belle looked up at the Beast. They said nothing out loud, but Kaoru felt certain that some silent discussion was taking place between them. At last, the Beast looked at Kaoru and Rinally and growled out, "We will take care of the defenses of the castle. Go around the courtyard and make sure there's nothing against the walls that can be used to climb over them. See if you can find anything to brace the gate with, as well."

"And after that?" Rin asked.

"After that," Beast started lowly, "you two will go hunting."

oooo

Kaoru and Rinally jogged around the courtyard in a clockwise motion, making sure there was nothing on the inside of the walls that anyone on the outside could use to get in. They found nothing with which they could brace the front gate with, but they found a length of thick chain that was so heavy it took both of them to carry it back to the gate and both of them to loop it around the wrought-iron posts to make sure the gate stayed secure. That done, they headed into the castle to drop off their packs and cloaks and prepare for their hunt for Gaston.

Kaoru ran his fingers over the armor on his right arm, watching the prismatic light flicker and dance under his fingertips. It was getting easier for him to call upon the armor, just as it was getting easier for him to call and dismiss Guardian as needed. He stood in the main foyer of the castle, waiting for Rinally to finish her preparations. He couldn't help but feel as though he was missing something important about the whole situation. He looked up at the far dark ceiling above his head, gripping the hilt of Guardian tightly. He raked his memories, trying to find the source of his uneasy feeling. He thought about what Rinally had said, what she had overheard, and what had happened to her when she tried to escape Gaston's house unnoticed. He thought about what had happened to them when they had escaped the village, or rather, what _hadn't_ happened to them.

 _Why didn't the villagers keep pursuing us? Why didn't anyone try to catch up to us on the road? Why weren't we attacked? Everything that should've happened to us didn't happen. Why?_

Kaoru looked away from the ceiling and up the staircases that wound from the first floor to the second in a great bisected oval. The entire castle seemed silent, still, as if everyone inside it was holding their breath and waiting to see what would happen next. His uneasy feeling grew until he was almost fidgeting in place, unsure if he was going to decide to leave the foyer and go looking for Rin or Belle or Beast or all three, or if he was going to stay and wait. He bounced on the balls of his feet for a minute, his lips pressing into a thin line. He stilled suddenly, raising Guardian into a defensive position as he did so, his eyes flicking around the room.

At the same time the Heartless attacked, Kaoru heard a woman scream from somewhere within the castle.

He swung Guardian hard at the Heartless, catching it in the chest and sending it flying backwards. The Heartless was bigger than usual shadows, with longer limbs and longer ears. Kaoru planted his feet and stared at it, watching the Neoshadow Heartless struggle to its feet, its head cocking to the side as its butter yellow eyes regarded the boy and the Keyblade. Again the woman screamed and this time Kaoru recognized the voice as belonging to Belle. Loathe to turn his back on the Neoshadow, Kaoru slowly backed up toward the stairs, keeping Guardian ready. The Neoshadow cocked its head the other way, then lunged at Kaoru again. He ducked and swung Guardian hard, the Keyblade crashing into the Heartless's body and shearing off a limb. It burst into motes of darkness and Kaoru turned to bolt up the stairs.

"Rinally!" Kaoru yelled, smelling smoke from a fire before he even reached the hall.

"Kaoru!" Rin yelled back, her voice somewhat muted. "Be careful! There are Heartless here!"

 _You think?_ He wanted to shout back, but he didn't bother. It was pointless anyway. He charged through the hallway, body twisting and Guardian flashing, destroying Heartless Shadows and Neoshadows as they surged out of the floor or walls toward him. He skidded around a corner and found Rinally and Belle, both standing pinned against one wall but protected by a barrier of magic. Belle was kneeling on the floor behind Rinally, who had her arms out straight, gripping onto both ends of her staff to focus the magic of the barrier in one spot before it curled around them. Attacking the barrier was an ape-like Heartless, its massive fists slamming on Rinally's barrier with concussive blows.

Kaoru didn't slow. He charged the ape Heartless, drawing his arm back as far as his shoulder would allow before slinging it forward, releasing Guardian as he did so. The white Keyblade spun hilt over blade and crashed into the Heartless's back, bouncing off and disappearing in a flash of light. It reappeared in Kaoru's hand and he flung it again. When the Heartless turned away from Rin and Belle to regard Kaoru, Guardian crashed into the Heartless's face, sending it backwards into Rin's shield. Belle cried out again as the barrier between them and the ape-like Heartless shivered and shook, minute cracks appearing in the spell. Rin grimaced, shifting her stance to balance herself and make her position more solid as she tried to pour more magic into the barrier to repair and strengthen it. The ape Heartless shoved itself to its feet and shook its head from side to side before letting out a bellow and rushing the young Keyblade wielder still charging toward it.

Kaoru caught Guardian as it rebounded back and flew into a horizontal spin, bringing Guardian's blade down onto the Heartless's head as it charged beneath him. The Heartless sprawled to the floor and Kaoru landed, twisting in such a way that he spun to a stop before Rinally's barrier. The Heartless growled as it shoved itself to its feet, balancing on its knuckles as it turned to face the boy. Its jaw dropped open to release a bellow and it began to charge again. Kaoru threw Guardian again, this time chasing the weapon. As the Heartless moved to duck under the rotating Keyblade, Kaoru jumped to avoid the charge, twisting in the air to grab the hilt of Guardian. As his fingers closed around the hilt, he followed through with swinging the Keyblade beneath him in a backwards arc, crashing the prongs of the weapon into the back of the Heartless's neck and shoulders.

As it stumbled forward, Rinally dropped her barrier and snapped out, "Blizzara!"

Ice formed around the Heartless's legs and ankles, capturing it in frigid shackles. It roared at her, but it couldn't reach her, and Rin attacked it again with another icy spell, driving the Heartless to its knees. Kaoru hit the ground and rushed back to help her, thrusting forward with Guardian. This time the Keyblade pierced the ape-like Heartless's skin, and it burst into motes after unleashing a terrible roar. The hallway grew quiet.

"What the hell happened?" Kaoru asked, using Guardian to point at the spot where the Heartless had been destroyed. "How did they get in?"

"I don't know!" Rinally snapped. She raked a hand through her pink hair, then offered her hand to Belle. She helped the woman to her feet, then returned her attention to Kaoru. "One minute, we were preparing to fortify the castle with some barrier and shield spells, and the next minute, the Heartless started attacking!"

Swallowing hard to keep his voice even, Kaoru asked, "Rin, where are the rods?"

She pointed to a room whose door Kaoru had passed. The door was hanging off its hinges, and the entire room had been destroyed. The room looked like it had once been a study. "I hid them in there. It looked dusty and dirty and unused, so I figured, why not, right?"

"After the Heartless started attacking," Belle began, "I thought we ought to retrieve them. If we kept them with us, then they couldn't be used against us. So we came to get them, but..."

"But that Heartless had already broken into the room." Rin said. "I bet you anything the rods are gone."

Kaoru shifted, looking down the hall at where he knew more Heartless were no doubt gathering. "I think we've been going about this all wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"What exactly did Gaston say to the guy?"

Rinally sucked in a breath, trying to remember. "Gaston talked a lot about getting Belle and these people could do whatever they wanted to the monster." She paused, her eyes going wide. "What if he was talking about Beast?"

Kaoru's lips drew into a thin line and Belle covered her mouth with her hand as she gasped. "I think bringing those rods in here was exactly what that guy wanted. I think we weren't pursued because we were doing exactly what he wanted us to do. It may have been by accident that you were able to get the rods, but it played into his plans."

"So the rods weakened the barrier, allowing the Heartless in, but between us we can easily defeat them." Rin said. "No one should be in danger."

"No." Belle said suddenly, her face expressionless even though her eyes filled with fear and worry. "Beast went to the bridge to ensure no one could use it to breach the castle. He's outside the barrier."

Kaoru and Rinally looked at each other, then back at Belle. "Is there somewhere safe you can hide?" Kaoru asked.

Understanding filled Belle's eyes. She nodded. "I... I can hide in our room. Kairi showed me how I can protect myself from attack, so... so I'll wait there. Don't worry. I won't be alone."

Nodding, Kaoru looked at Rin, then started down the hall. She reached to grip Belle's hand, smiling up at the Princess of Heart. "We'll bring him back safe. I promise."

"I know." Belle replied softly. "Be careful."

Rin flashed her a brilliant smile and took off down the hall after Kaoru.


	14. Chapter 14

Thirteen - Beast's Castle

They cut through the Heartless Shadows, Neoshadows, Red Nocturnes, and Green Requiems as they raced through the castle to reach the bridge. Between Guardian and Rinally's spells, the Heartless didn't last long enough to really give them a good fight. It suited the two friends just fine, as they wanted to conserve most of their energy for the fight they knew would be happening soon enough. Kaoru leaped down a small flight of stairs, sending Guardian careening into a Neoshadow that was just pulling itself from the ground. Guardian hit the Heartless in the face, knocking it backwards. The Keyblade returned to Kaoru's hand and he flew into a spin, catching the Neoshadow again as it righted itself. He didn't strike it a third time, already past it. He heard the crackle of lightning, felt the heat of it sear his back, and then Rinally was beside him, sparks still jumping from her staff. They reached the doorway that would take them outside to the bridge where they would join the Beast, and slowed to a halt.

The door stood slightly ajar, allowing a chill wind to blow through and fill the foyer with cold.

"Kaoru," Rinally started, gripping her staff tighter, "do you think we're too late?"

"No." Kaoru moved forward, reaching to take hold of the door and open it wider. "But we should be prepared for anything."

Rinally swallowed hard and followed Kaoru to the door. He looked at her, she nodded, and they stepped out onto the bridge. Kaoru quickly grabbed Rinally by her wrist and pulled her close to him, spinning them both down to the ground as the crack of thunder sounded. The wood of the door exploded into sharp shards a second later, followed by a roar of outrage. Kaoru looked up from Rin's hair toward the Beast, where he stood nearly on all fours facing Gaston and Gaston's rifle. Le Fou stood nearby, clutching the cage the Heartless Shadow was contained in, as well as the small black rod.

"Get back inside!" roared the Beast, not even turning to look at Kaoru and Rin.

Kaoru disentangled himself from Rin and deliberately went to the Beast's side, holding up Guardian in a ready position. "I'm not going to let you fight him by yourself."

The Beast eyed Kaoru, then flicked a glance over his shoulder toward Rin, where she stood at a relatively safe distance. Her staff was held up, ready for whatever she intended. Her eyes were narrowed at Le Fou, and the imp's face at first went pale when he spotted her before his cheeks colored a fierce red with anger. The Beast growled low in his throat and turned his gaze back onto his enemies. "Don't get yourself killed."

"Back at you." Kaoru said, his eyes focused on Gaston and the gun the man held.

Gaston growled and raised the gun for another shot. "I won't miss this time."

The Beast shot forward on all fours, and the thunder of the gun nearly deafened Kaoru as Gaston fired. If the Beast was hit, he didn't show it, continuing to bull forward with astounding speed. Gritting his teeth, Kaoru let the Beast race for Gaston, and he charged toward Le Fou, Guardian flashing toward the small man's face. Le Fou squeaked and raised the cage to protect himself, allowing Kaoru to adjust his attack so Guardian caught the cage at an angle. The sound of metal striking metal filled the air, and Kaoru put his weight behind his downward strike to force Le Fou to either drop the cage or go down with it.

Le Fou dropped the cage with a loud curse.

Kaoru hooked one of Guardian's prongs in the bars of the cage and yanked it back toward him. He went into a spin, throwing the cage back behind him, toward Rin and away from the black rod. He didn't see where it landed or if Rinally caught it, for he completed his rotation and was facing Le Fou again. The small man was fumbling with the black rod, trying to keep a grip on it as he struggled to regain his balance. Kaoru viciously kicked his hand, making the imp cry out in pain. The black rod flew through the air toward where the Beast and Gaston were struggling over the gun, rolling beneath their feet before fetching up against the wall of the bridge.

"That," Kaoru spat, "was for pulling my friend's hair."

Le Fou stared up at him, clutching his hand. "That little bi-"

"Finish that sentence, and my Keyblade will find your balls."

The imp actually whimpered and curled up on himself. Kaoru scowled and turned his attention to the Beast and Gaston. The Beast seemed to be holding his own, managing to throw Gaston to the ground and fling the gun over the side of the bridge. Now that they seemed to be on equal terms, the Beast roared and charged Gaston, bowling the man over and trying to find a solid grip on him. Gaston kicked upward as the Beast tried to readjust himself, and his heel caught the Beast in the chest, driving him backwards. It was long enough that Gaston was able to get back to his feet and charge the Beast back, muscled arms reaching to encircle the Beast's throat. Kaoru started forward, seeking to help the Beast, when he felt a sharp chill rush down his spine.

Rin's cry of "Kaoru! Look out!" made him duck low and spin, raising his right arm and Guardian in his defense.

Le Fou had drawn a knife from somewhere on his person, a wicked looking hunting knife that he must've been hiding beneath his coat, and had lunged at Kaoru while the boy's back was turned. The knife came down on Kaoru's armor, chipping the blade on the prismatic metal. Kaoru fell backwards and hit the ground, losing his grip on Guardian for the briefest of moments. It was enough for Le Fou to get closer and raise the knife for another attack.

He didn't get to.

Before he could even begin to bring that hunting knife down, Rinally was already moving. She rushed forward, her staff held in her left hand and low to her side. When she reached the midway point between her and Kaoru, she brought her left arm up fast and shouted, "Aero!"

The tornado spun off her staff toward Kaoru and Le Fou. Kaoru rolled out of the path of the tornado, grabbing Guardian's hilt as he went past. Le Fou was much slower in getting out of the way. The Aero spell crashed into the little man, sending him flying through the air to land in a heap on the end of the bridge. Kaoru got to his feet, letting out a relieved breath. Cool healing magic flowed through him, and Rin came to his side, casting another spell toward Le Fou. Blue ice crusted around the imp's feet, holding him in place as the ice slowly crawled up his legs and encased his waist.

"There," Rin said. "That should hold him."

The Beast let out a choking roar, trying to grasp Gaston's arms to loosen the man's hold on him. Gaston had managed to turn the Beast enough that the man was now dangling from the Beast's back, his arms having a chokehold around his furry neck. Gaston's muscles were straining from the effort to maintain his hold and avoid the claws that came for his head, all the while trying to choke the Beast to death. Kaoru quickly rushed toward the Beast, swinging Guardian hard toward Gaston. Rather than taking the hit, the man let go of the Beast and jumped out of the way. The Beast dropped into a crouch and gasped for air, one claw at his throat. Kaoru and Rinally took up a position in front of the Beast, holding their weapons in defensive positions against Gaston.

"You're not going to win, Gaston." Kaoru said sternly. "Get out of here, and don't come back. Whatever you're after, you won't get it. I'll make sure of it."

Gaston's lips split into a wide grin, displaying his straight white teeth in such a way that it looked more like a grimace. "Do you really think you can stop me, Keyblade brat? Yes, I know exactly what you are. My friends told me all about your kind. You think you're great protectors of the world, infallible agents of Light that don't know how to stop meddling in the affairs of their betters." He pointed at Guardian with one finger. "Without that thing, you're nothing but a snot-nosed brat!"

Kaoru gripped Guardian tighter, eyes narrowing. "From where I'm standing, this snot-nosed brat has you outnumbered."

Gaston's grin seemed to almost falter. "Numbers aren't the only thing that wins a fight. Belle _will_ be mine! I've worked too long and too hard to fail now!"

"Belle will never be yours!" snarled the Beast, claws scoring stone in a physical display of his anger. "She isn't an object to be stolen or won in a contest! She is a beautiful, kind, intelligent, wonderful person and she is _my wife_! I will die before I allow you to take her from me!"

Gaston's confident grin returned, sharper than ever. "That can be arranged. They wanted you alive, but seeing as that doesn't seem to be an option..." He put his head down and charged.

The Beast swung his arm toward Kaoru and Rin, pushing them out of the way of Gaston. The Beast caught the man head on, claws digging into flesh in order to stop Gaston's charge. Even still, the Beast's paws began to skid backwards, slowly, inch by inch. Gaston gripped the Beast's forearms; his muscles bulged as he matched strength with strength. The Beast growled and shoved back against Gaston, putting them into a stalemate of wills.

Rin gripped Kaoru's arm. "What should we do?"

Kaoru shrugged. "There's nothing we can do. If we interfere, then we might end up getting Beast hurt, even killed." He watched the Beast and Gaston struggle against each other for a minute, then looked to Rin. "Where's the Heartless?"

Rin pointed. Kaoru looked toward the door of the castle, where the cage sat encased in a pillar of ice. "I'm not stupid. Everyone knows that the secret weapon is always the last piece you think is going to be played."

Kaoru started to smile, but her words triggered something in his recent memory. Without saying a word to her, he charged toward the Beast and Gaston, his grip tight around Guardian's hilt. He heard Rin shout his name, but he didn't stop to explain. He couldn't stop to explain. He reached the Beast at the same time the cloaked stranger did, blinking into existence so suddenly Kaoru nearly missed the tendrils of shadow slithering back into a hole in the very fabric of reality itself. Had Kaoru not used a similar portal to get himself and Rin here, he wouldn't have recognized it at all. It was a piece of information he filed away in his mind for later scrutiny, because right now he was swinging Guardian forward as hard as he could to make sure the cloaked stranger couldn't ram that black rod into the Beast's outstretched arm.

Seeing the Keyblade come at him, the Beast released Gaston and flung himself backwards. Kaoru slid in between the Beast and Gaston, facing the man and his cloaked companion. Rin quickly joined him, by his side but a step back, and Kaoru assumed a ready stance, his hands curled about Guardian's hilt in a two handed grip. His heart was hammering in his ears, a thready sound that seemed to heighten his senses. He stared at the cloaked man, almost able to see the pinpricks of light floating around a core of darkness in the man's chest.

"So," said the man in a querulous voice, "the vaunted Light has chosen another champion."

Kaoru gripped Guardian tighter, his lips thinning into a line. "Who are you?"

"There's no need for you to know my name. It's not important anyway." The cloaked man stepped closer to Gaston, who was crouching now, panting to catch his breath. Blood streamed freely from the claw wounds in Gaston's flesh, but he showed no signs of feeling the pain. "What _is_ important is what you intend to do here."

"It should be obvious." Kaoru snapped. "I won't let you hurt Beast and I won't let you hurt Belle."

"I've no interest in the Princess of Heart." the man said, his cloaked head angling downward to look at the black rod in his hand. "She is useless to us. But the one you call the Beast... we're greatly interested in him."

The Beast let out a rumbling snarl, but Kaoru held up a hand to keep him from charging. "What do you want? Who are you? Who are you working for?"

"What I want is an answer to my questions. I've already answered the second question. As for who I'm working for, all you need to know is that we are a group of like-minded individuals working to bring forth unity and coherency to these chaotic worlds." That cloaked head turned again, angling downward to look at Gaston. "And you, Gaston, have acted prematurely. We gave you the tools, and you've mishandled them."

Gaston looked up sharply at the cloaked man. "I only did what you told me to do! I saw an opportunity and took it! Don't interfere!"

"From where I'm standing, you need my interference. You're surrounded by a witch, a Keyblade brat, and a monster. You have no weapons. Face it, you're useless as you are."

Gaston shot to his feet, whirling on his ally. Kaoru gripped Guardian tighter, his entire body tense.

The cloaked man shrugged his shoulders and tossed the black rod up into the air, only to catch it in his fist. "One subject is as good as another I suppose." he said. Then he drove the black rod into one of Gaston's claw wounds, forcing it down deep into the man's flesh. In the same second, the cloaked man vanished.

Gaston let out a terrible bellow and grasped at his arm, near clawing his own skin to get at the black rod. But it was too late. The rod seemed to come alive and wriggled its way deeper into Gaston's skin, and as it did so, black lines began to streak from the wound up his arm and toward his chest. Kaoru watched in increasing horror as the tiny pinpricks of darkness around Gaston's heart began to expand, almost pulsing as they slowly consumed what little light the man had left. When it was completely gone, Gaston crumbled to his hands and knees, his back bowing toward the sky as a guttural cry of anguish and pain escaped him. It was the worst sound Kaoru had ever heard come from a human being. He started forward, unsure of what he was going to do, unsure of how he was going to help Gaston, only knowing that he had to do something before it was too late.

Gaston's head snapped up before Kaoru closed even half the distance between him. Burning gold eyes focused on Kaoru, stopping him in his tracks and making him put his Keyblade between him and the man before him. Gaston's lips split into a twisted grin, showing straight white teeth that were becoming fangs. Kaoru heard Rin gasp and let out soft expletives as she saw what he saw: the transformation of a man into a monster. Gaston's skin slowly changing from white to pure black. His muscles expanded. His fingernails became claws. A long tongue dropped from his mouth, adding a feral quality to his already twisted mouth.

And then he charged.


	15. Chapter 15

Fourteen - Beast's Castle

Kaoru met Gaston's charge with a strong throw of Guardian. The Keyblade spun hilt over blade and struck the monster's shoulder with two of the prongs at the tip of the blade. Gaston howled in pain as the Keyblade dug into his skin, but he kept charging Kaoru. A searing heat flashed by Kaoru's ear and then a fireball blossomed against Gaston's chest, sending him flying backwards toward the end of the bridge. Guardian came back to Kaoru's hand and he ran forward, intending to take advantage of Gaston's momentary stillness. Guardian flashed up and down, left and right, scoring hit after hit and ripping away the darkness from the man's flesh. The young Keyblade wielder dodged claws aimed for his throat and body, though he caught glancing blows here and there. Those were quickly healed by Rinally, and Kaoru managed to figure out that if he twisted his body a certain way when he couldn't completely avoid the counterattack he could catch the blow on his armor. The prismatic and silver metal seemed to work just as well as Guardian did in driving away the darkness from Gaston, but for all the darkness Kaoru and Guardian drove away, even more seemed to take its place. It seemed like a futile fight, a constant ebb and flow of light and darkness, and darkness seemed to be winning.

Kaoru spun low beneath Gaston's swipe to his head, then came back up to drive the length of his Keyblade into the monster's back. Gaston stumbled forward and almost collapsed to his hands and knees, but he caught himself and whirled to face Kaoru. The young Keyblade wielder was following through with another attack, striking down hard on Gaston's head to try and lay him low. He was forced to retreat as sharp claws swung in for his vulnerable side, Guardian coming between them to try and fend off the attack. From behind his enemy, Kaoru saw the Beast rushing forward. Rinally, too, was firing off a Fira spell. The flames sped past the Beast's head and crashed into Gaston's back, wreathing him in an inferno of orange and yellow. He howled, arching to try and extinguish the flames, but that only allowed the Beast to attack without fear of being countered. The Beast's claws swiped left and right across Gaston's back, shredding blackened flesh but otherwise doing nothing to stop the berserker that once had been human.

The Beast was forced to retreat, snarling angrily as Gaston turned to attack him. Kaoru threw Guardian as hard as he could, and the Keyblade crashed into the back of Gaston's head. The monster crumpled face-first to the ground, stunned but not unconscious. Guardian came back to Kaoru's hand and he charged forward, taking the opportunity before him to attack in a series of hard blows to Gaston's back. More darkness sloughed off, turning into motes before it touched the ground. Beneath the roiling darkness, Kaoru could see the faint light growing stronger. Yet there was still a pitch black nexus of pure darkness around the rod that was lodged firmly in Gaston's arm.

 _This will go on forever if I can't get that out of him._ Kaoru thought, taking a spare minute to catch his breath. _But how? How can I get it out of him without killing him?_

Suddenly, Kaoru found himself on the defensive, jumping backwards to avoid the quick thrashing swipes Gaston aimed for his chest. Rinally tried to help, firing spell after spell at Gaston's back. It seemed, though, that none of the spells she slung seemed to bother Gaston much. Kaoru wasn't sure if he was ignoring them or if he didn't even feel them. Even the Beast couldn't turn Gaston's attention away from Kaoru except for the briefest moments.

 _I won't be able to keep this up much longer._ Kaoru swallowed hard and jumped back to avoid a lunge. His arms were starting to ache and his legs burned. His throat felt parched and his breath was coming in short gasps. Gaston always seemed full of energy and his attacks were coming faster and faster.

Deciding he could either stay on the retreat forever or take the initiative, Kaoru decided to take the initiative. He flipped Guardian around so that the Keyblade was in a reverse grip, then charged forward. He ducked under Gaston's swipe, getting within the monster's guard and attacking when he did so. Instead of aiming for the obvious target of Gaston's torso, Kaoru aimed for Gaston's elbow. With Guardian held in the reverse grip, Kaoru was able to swing it up and connect the cylindrical part of the Keyblade with the joint. There was a sickening crack and a bloodcurdling howl, and Gaston was jumping back away from Kaoru, who followed through with his strike and flipped Guardian around to its normal grip. That allowed Kaoru to strike quickly again, this time using the sharp prongs of Guardian's "blade" to dig into the skin of Gaston's broken arm.

As Gaston howled and pulled away, Guardian ripped at the darkness coating the monster's skin, tearing open a great rift between the man's flesh and the jet black coat upon it. Kaoru switched Guardian's hilt to his left hand and reached out with his armored right hand as he pulled Guardian backwards. As the darkness stretched, Kaoru grasped the darkness with his right hand tightly just above his Keyblade's tip. He grit his teeth as a sudden pain lanced up his arm, even through his armor, but he focused on that prismatic light that filled the gauntlet and wrapped the darkness tighter around his hand. Then he pulled as hard as he could, both with his left hand and Guardian and his armored right hand.

Light flared bright as Kaoru and Gaston fought each other in a battle of wills. The darkness within Gaston threatened to consume Kaoru. Faintly he could hear Rinally crying his name, the Beast roaring, but Kaoru shut them out, trying to focus on his task. Even though Gaston was a selfish and conceited person, he wasn't _evil_. He was being used by the darkness in his heart, the darkness that had festered and grew all because Gaston believed he hadn't gotten what he deserved. There wasn't anything Kaoru could do to fix the man's disposition, and Kaoru knew that all too well, but the only thing he could do was excise the festering darkness and hope that once Gaston was free, he would be able to change on his own.

Kaoru sucked in a breath as he felt the darkness trying to overwhelm him as Gaston's thrashings became more violent. He planted his feet as best he could and held on, refusing to close his eyes. _Light and darkness are two sides of the same coin. There won't be darkness without light. But everything has to be in balance, right? I can't give up now. I can't! I've come this far._

But Kaoru felt his knees buckle and the darkness in his grip flowed up and over his arm, cutting off the glow of the prismatic light filling his armor. Gaston stopped thrashing then and his yellow eyes focused on the young Keyblade wielder. His lips parted to display sharp teeth in a macabre grin, as if he could sense the boy's weakness.

"Kaoru! Rise and fight! Use the light inside you! The two may have to be in balance to coexist, but the light will always be the vanguard for the darkness! Don't let the darkness consume you!"

 _Belle._

Belle's voice. Kaoru wasn't sure when he had closed his eyes, but he forced them open now, and could see Belle standing in the doorway of the castle, flanked by the Beast and Rinally. Belle was glowing with bright, pure light. He could still make out her general shape, but otherwise she was completely consumed by the bright white glow that only a Princess of Heart could have. Her voice also seemed to cut through whatever psychotic haze Gaston was under, for he stopped advancing on Kaoru and pivoted to face Belle.

Gaston let out a bellow that sounded like Belle's name and started to advance. She didn't move, not even when the Beast and Rin tried to get her to go back inside the castle. Belle just stared determinedly at Kaoru. She believed in him.

Giving a soft cry that was part frustration and part rage, Kaoru struggled to his feet. He strengthened his hold both on the darkness that was already consuming his right arm and dug in his heels, throwing all of his weight backwards to try and keep Gaston from moving forward. It was futile; little by little, on strength and determination alone, Gaston was inexorably pulling him forward. Kaoru reversed his grip on Guardian and swung the Keyblade forward, toward Gaston's arm where the black rod had been forced in. Guardian sank into the darkness, latching on as its prongs got caught in the black mass covering Gaston. Then Kaoru let go of the darkness he held with his right hand and angled his body away from Gaston.

 _I won't give up! I can't give up!_ Kaoru thought, gritting his teeth. _I have to stop him! I have to protect Belle and Rin and the Beast! I have to survive! I have to find Hiromu and Tae! I have to find Sora!_

Power filled him then, warm and bright, and at first Kaoru didn't know what to do with it. He stopped thinking and let instinct guide him. The prismatic glow of his armor began to brighten even through the darkness and Gaston let out a pitiable howl as if he were in true pain. The monster stopped surging forward to twist back and face Kaoru. This time Kaoru didn't hesitate; he released Guardian with his left hand, wrenched his right free of the darkness to grip his Keyblade's hilt, and focused on infusing the golden light into Guardian's blade. The Keyblade began to glow as if with an inner heat, and the darkness began to bubble before it released jets of black colored steam. Gaston bellowed and struck for Kaoru's head, his other arm moving in an unavoidable blur.

Or it would have been unavoidable, if Kaoru hadn't suddenly surged forward into Gaston's reach, grabbing Guardian's hilt with his left hand just below his right. He pulled back on his Keyblade as hard as he could, pulling the darkness clear of Gaston's arm and the wound there. He released Guardian's hilt with his right hand and cupped it, palm up. The light surging in Guardian's blade arced out into his palm, growing brighter and brighter and sending motes into the air that mingled with the black steam and dissipated it. Gaston roared and tried to strike Kaoru again, but he dodged the blow and grabbed Gaston's wounded arm with his glowing right hand.

"Cascade!" Kaoru shouted, releasing Gaston's arm at the same time he flung Guardian skyward, releasing the spell of light at the same time.

When Guardian reached its apex, the golden glow infusing the Keyblade burst from the weapon in a great cloud. The motes changed from ephemeral dust to a shimmering rain, pelting the area below with prismatic drops. Where the rain hit the darkness covering Gaston's body, black steam rose, and he began to claw at his face, chest, arms, anything he could reach as the darkness began to slough off under the rain. He clawed at his arm, where the wounds seemed to stand out in prominent relief. Kaoru rushed through the rain to grab Gaston's arm and pull him to the ground, struggling with the man's darkness-empowered strength to keep him down. Kaoru reached for the open wound, made worse by Gaston's clawing. As the prismatic rain hit the wound, the flesh began to glow and ripple, as if it was healing, and the black rod that had been forced into the wound began to slowly work its way out.

Kaoru grabbed the rod with his armored hand and pulled. Gaston let out a guttural howl and thrashed against Kaoru, throwing the Keyblade wielder this way and that. Kaoru held on stubbornly, clenching his teeth as he fought to pull the black rod out of the man. Gaston finally seemed to focus on Kaoru then, his lips splitting into a feral grin as he realized how close Kaoru actually was to him. The prismatic rain of Cascade was finally tapering off, leaving Kaoru vulnerable for retaliation. Being so close to his enemy, Kaoru knew that if he didn't do something fast, he would be killed.

As Gaston pulled his weight back to attack, Kaoru tightened his hold on the black rod and threw his weight backwards, opposite his enemy. The strain between the two opposing forces proved too much for both of them, and Kaoru and Gaston both fell backwards. Gaston hit the ground in a pile of limbs, howling as the darkness covering his skin began to slough off in great chunks. Kaoru hit the ground on his back, somehow managing not to brain himself on the ground as he used the momentum to roll himself away from Gaston. In his right hand, he gripped the black rod.

Kaoru came to his knees, turning to face Gaston. The prismatic light that his armor glowed with seemed to dim as the black rod in his hand suddenly grew hot. Kaoru yelped and dropped it, watching with wide eyes as the rod began to smoke before it slowly melted into a pile of goo. A groan made him wrench his eyes away from the goo and back to Gaston, Guardian held tight in his right hand once more. It was a reflexive move, preparing himself for another fight. Kaoru didn't have to worry about continuing the fight, though, as Gaston was lying half-naked curled in a fetal position, eyes closed tight as if he were in incredible pain. There was no way he was getting back up to fight.

Kaoru slowly got to his feet. _The manifestation of darkness in a person... does it really turn you into a monster like that? Or was it just because that rod forced the darkness to become abundant enough to force a transformation?_ He didn't have any answers to his questions, and he wasn't sure he would find them any time soon. He released Guardian and his armor and immediately doubled over, bracing his hands on his knees as the adrenaline filling his system at last began to abate.

"Kaoru!"

He looked up to see Rinally running toward him. She skirted Gaston and caught him in a tight hug, supporting him as much as celebrating his victory. Kaoru hugged her back, looking over her shoulder toward the Beast and Belle. The two of them were talking in hushed tones by the door, and Belle glanced toward the prone form of Gaston on the ground. The Beast followed her gaze. His lips lifted in a growl, but he didn't seem to be arguing with her on whatever point she was making. Then his view of them was obscured as Rin's face filled his vision, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"I was so worried about you!" Rinally cried, giving him a little shake. "What were you thinking? Rushing in alone like that! I thought you were going to be killed!"

Despite himself, Kaoru felt a smile tug at his lips. "Sorry. I won't do it again."

Rin narrowed her eyes at him and punched him in the shoulder lightly. "Of course you will. And next time, I'll be right beside you. I can fight too, you know."

Kaoru smiled wider. "I know."

The two teenagers looked up as Belle and the Beast approached them. The Beast kept Belle as far away from the prone Gaston as he could, despite the man having mercifully fallen unconscious. Belle didn't seem to mind her husband's over-protectiveness one bit, instead smiling brightly at Kaoru and Rin. In her arms were the packs she had given to them earlier, and neither Kaoru nor Rin could figure out how she had gotten them so fast, at least until they looked at the front door of the castle and saw Chip bouncing there, as if he were trying to be noticed.

"Don't worry about him," the Beast said as they reached Kaoru and Rin, jerking his elbow toward Gaston. "We'll make sure he gets back to town safely."

Belle set the packs down and reached out to put her hands on Kaoru and Rin's shoulders, giving them each a tight squeeze. "You two were very brave. Especially you, Kaoru. You saved Gaston's life and kept him from being consumed by darkness. How you did it..." She shook her head. "This darkness doesn't seem to consume only the heart, but the body as well. Once both are gone, there's no going back."

"That cloaked guy," Kaoru said, "he's got to have the answers. But I bet he's long gone by now."

"Most likely." The Beast answered. "You'll have to continue your journey if you want to find him, his organization, and what they want."

"I doubt we'll have any more trouble from them," Belle added, "but we'll keep an eye out all the same. We'll be able to defend ourselves from the minor Heartless that are left here, so don't worry about us." She drew Kaoru first into a tight hug, then Rinally. "I know you're tired, but you have to continue on. If Sora comes here, I'll tell him what's happened, and I'll let him know you're looking for him."

Kaoru nodded. "If we can run into him sooner rather than later it would be nice. Just be careful. That guy might come back."

The Beast's lips lifted in a soft snarl. "We'll be ready, if he does."

Belle picked up the packs and handed them to Kaoru and Rin. "I asked Chip to make sure these were ready for you. There's food, clothes, and other supplies you might need. I don't know where you'll end up next, but you definitely might need to blend in. Some worlds haven't been touched yet by outsiders, and they won't know how to react to them. Or magic. Or Keyblades."

Kaoru and Rinally shouldered the packs, nodding at Belle's words. Kaoru looked up at her and smiled. "We'll be okay. We'll figure something out."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of him." Rin said, giving Kaoru's shoulder a nudge. Then she turned, starting to head away from them. Kaoru smiled, then hurried after her, waving back to Belle and the Beast until they had disappeared from view.

"Hey, Kaoru," Rin started.

"Yeah?"

"How are we going to get off this world?"

"Um..."


	16. Chapter 16

Fifteen - Tsenacommacah/Jamestown

The Paths of Darkness deposited Rinally and Kaoru into a glen, surrounded by huge trees. Birds chirped hidden in the green leaves, and squirrels chittered to one another, sitting on high branches above them. The air was warm and smelled like it had just finished raining. Kaoru looked around, trying to figure out where they were, but he could only see the trunks of trees continuing on for miles in any direction. Rinally looked toward the canopy, using her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight that poured through the leaves.

"Well," she said, "I like this world better already. No snow."

Kaoru chuckled. "It's definitely a welcome break. I was getting tired of the cold."

"I'm just tired in general."

"Do you want to just camp here for the night?"

"No way!" Rinally snapped. "I am _not_ sleeping in the woods surrounded by unknown things! There could be wolves or bears or... or... or Heartless! I don't want to be eaten by the Heartless!"

"Or wolves or bears." Kaoru said, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Or those too!" Rinally blew out a long sigh. "What if we just picked a direction and walked in it?"

"We could get lost and be eaten by wolves or bears or Heartless."

"I hate you."

Kaoru just gave Rin an impish grin. He pointed toward a tree. "I'll do what I did before. I'll climb to the top and try and see if I can't see anything."

Rin narrowed her eyes at him and folded her arms over her chest. "Okay, fine. You do that. I'll just make myself comfortable right here with both our packs."

Kaoru laughed despite the angry look Rinally was giving him and removed his pack to hand it to her. Then he headed toward the tree he had pointed at and reached for the lowest branch. It took some effort to get himself up into the tree, mostly because he had to take a running start and attempt to parkour up the trunk in order to reach the branch, but once he was there, it was easy enough to find a path toward the top of the tree, or at least high enough that he could see out over the canopy of the forest and try to look for something resembling civilization.

He saw green for miles, a verdant blanket that stretched on without breaking. He covered his eyes with his hand to shield them from the sun, catching sight of something sparkling. It took him a moment to recognize it as water. He wasn't sure if it was a river or the ocean, but he knew that if there was water, there was likely a town or a village nearby. It took him a few more minutes to find it, but at last he saw the dark plume of smoke rising into the sky. He marked the direction, then climbed back down the tree, rejoining Rinally. She offered him a piece of cheese, then wrapped the wedge back up and pushed it back into her pack.

"Find anything?" she asked.

Kaoru took a moment to savor the snack before answering. "Yeah. Fire. We can go check it out. Once we figure out what we're going to be interacting with, we'll be able to see what kind of disguise we can cook up."

"Fine by me." Rin hauled up her pack as Kaoru lifted his. "I hope we don't need a disguise. I don't know what I'll do about my hair."

"Maybe they won't be phased by naturally pink hair."

"Maybe."

The two headed away from the glen in the direction of the smoke. They remained in the forest for some time, which was broken only by differing gaps in the trunks, at least until they saw a wide break in the trees. As they approached the breech, they could see that much of the forest had been cleared away, leaving behind shorn stumps of tree trunks. Beyond the field of stumps was a wall of logs bound together tightly, complete with a gate facing a worn dirt road. Behind the wall were log buildings of varying sizes and further was the sparkling bay, which was shadowed by the tall mast of a ship.

Rin whistled lowly. "Definitely a town."

"Yeah," Kaoru agreed. He studied the town, the bay, the tiny people milling about on the village's streets and the people working the land just outside the village's wall. "Looks like a pioneer town."

"A what?"

"Didn't you learn about pioneers in school?"

Rin frowned deeply then turned narrowed eyes on him. "If by pioneers you mean sky pirates, then sure."

Kaoru shook his head and sighed. "Never mind. Anyway, they don't look like they'd react well to strangers just showing up out of nowhere. Maybe we should head through the woods a bit until we can turn around and come down the road."

"If they won't react well to strangers materializing out of the woods, they won't react well to us showing up in the clothes we're wearing." Rinally pointed out.

"Belle did say she packed some clothes that might help us. What those people are wearing look similar to what the villagers on her world were wearing."

"All I found was food and munny and water flasks in mine."

Kaoru canted his head toward the pack he carried on his back. "We can look in mine. Let's head back into the woods. We can keep the road to our left here, head down some, and find somewhere we can change."

"Sounds like a plan, I guess."

The two slipped back into the shadow of the forest, not that they had gone far from it to begin with. They walked through the trees again, keeping the road to their left. Kaoru noticed that the road they were following kept growing rougher and more disused the further along they went, almost as if the people who lived in the bayside town no longer used the road. He couldn't figure out why, at least until the familiar feeling of danger made his entire body tense. He grabbed Rin by the shoulder to stop her, put a finger to his lips to silence her protest, and called Guardian to his hand. Rinally stepped behind him and summoned her staff, setting her feet so that she wouldn't be in his way and could cast her spells quickly.

The woman running toward them seemed to fly over the forest floor, leaping with the grace of a deer over the roots and dodging through the tree trunks like they weren't even there. Long black hair streamed behind her like a banner. Her bronze skin flashed as she pumped her arms and legs. Her dress was short and made of buckskin. Clearly, she wasn't part of the village Kaoru and Rin had left behind them, but rather from another civilization entirely. Her eyes went wide as she spotted Kaoru and Rinally standing almost directly in her path, and she skidded to a stop in her surprise. Then she glanced over her shoulder, sucked in a breath and made to run again, only this time her foot slipped out from under her. She crashed to her hands and knees, crying out.

The Heartless behind her looked like a mix between a bear and a liquid shadow, undulating through the trees like a bullet train of muscle and fur. Sensing the woman's weakness, the Heartless roared and charged faster, only to have its charge met by Guardian. The Keyblade crashed into the Heartless's face, crushing its nose back into its head. The creature yelled as it was driven backwards and away from the woman. Guardian appeared back in Kaoru's hands and he rushed forward, shouting, "Rin! Take care of her! Then back me up!"

"You got it!" Rin shouted back, moving forward in Kaoru's wake to help the woman.

Kaoru kept moving, swinging Guardian back and turning his body into the next swing he gave. The bear-like Heartless was too slow in getting back up fully, so Kaoru was able to catch it in the snout again, this time snapping its head back. He darted around behind it and thrust Guardian toward the center of its back, trying to snap the Heartless's spine. Guardian hit a solid mass, and the Heartless's spine bent inward, but didn't break. Kaoru turned his Keyblade so that the prongs would catch when he drew his arm back and pulled as hard as he could. Guardian cut a deep wound across the Heartless's back, making it roar in frustration and pain and whirl toward Kaoru. He jumped back, avoiding a swipe toward his middle. The Heartless's claws tore through a nearby tree trunk, sending splinters flying everywhere.

A pulse of power riffled through the air, hitting the Heartless, Kaoru, and the flying splinters. A second later, the wind blew fiercely, throwing the splinters away from Kaoru. The wind was so powerful that the bear-like Heartless had to dig all four paws into the ground to keep from being bowled over. Kaoru dodged away from the blowing wind, catching a glimpse of Rin standing before the woman with her arms extended, her staff pointed outward. She swung her staff back over her shoulder, then forward again as hard as she could, and though Kaoru couldn't hear the spell she cast, he knew he had to get out of the way fast. He leaped at the last second and felt the flames sear across the backs of his legs. He hit the ground and rolled, coming up fast and ready for the next attack. The bear-like Heartless shrieked and yowled as it thrashed around on the ground, trying to put out the fire that was consuming its shadowy fur. It turned its butter yellow eyes on Rinally and the woman behind her and roared.

Kaoru charged forward and struck the Heartless in the side, leaping upward to avoid the swipe that would've torn in him two, then came down on the Heartless's back. He winced at the heat of the flames, but took Guardian in both of his hands to thrust downward as hard as he could. His Keyblade hit the back of the Heartless's neck, and Kaoru pushed down with all of his weight. His armor glittered with prismatic light, and the glow spread to Guardian. With a pained growl, the Heartless began to buck and thrash, trying to get Kaoru off its back. Gritting his teeth, Kaoru held on, shoving downward as hard as he could. He had to leap off, though, at last, as the bear-like Heartless began to thrash more violently. He landed in front of Rin and the strange woman, holding Guardian up and back, ready to attack or defend, depending on how the Heartless moved.

The Heartless reared up, roaring at the three humans before it, its claws reaching out for them. Kaoru threw Guardian at the same time Rinally cast a Thundara spell. The Keyblade spun directly into the path of the lightning magic, but instead of dissipating the spell, the Thundara spell enveloped Guardian, making it crackle with prismatic thunderbolts. The Keyblade crashed into the Heartless's chest and there was a squealing noise as the electricity was discharged. Guardian returned to Kaoru's outstretched hand and he swung it up behind him, yanking on the lightning chain that had formed between it and the Heartless. The chain tightened around the Heartless until the creature let out a pitiful squawk and fell to the ground, shaking as the electricity continuously shocked it. A moment later, it burst into dark motes, and the lightning chain dissipated, leaving Kaoru holding Guardian in a defensive position and Rinally holding her staff with both hands, ready to cast another spell.

The woman let out a soft breath. "You killed it."

Both Kaoru and Rinally turned to face the woman. Now that he could study her a little better, Kaoru noticed the woman's face had strong lines to it, along with a wildness he hadn't seen in any other person. Her dark eyes regarded them curiously, if a little fearfully, but she made no move to run. Neither did she move to get closer.

"Well," Rin started, "of course. It was a Heartless."

"A... Heartless?"

"It's a being made of darkness that has no heart of its own. So it tries to get one, by taking yours and making you into something just like it."

The woman's dark eyes flicked to Kaoru. "And what's that?"

Kaoru lifted Guardian. "This? It's a Keyblade. It's the weapon I use to fight the Heartless."

"But she used lightning." The woman's eyes darted back to Rinally. "Are you blessed by the gods? The only way a human can have such power is if the gods themselves are aiding you."

Rin blinked and a grin worked its way onto her face. "No, I'm a sorceress."

"What?"

Kaoru dismissed Guardian, the sight of that making the woman jump slightly. "What she means is, she can use magic, but she doesn't have the help of the gods to do it. I'm Kaoru. This is Rinally, but I call her Rin. Who are you?"

The woman smiled, her hand going to her chest. "My name is Pocahontas."


	17. Chapter 17

Sixteen - Tsenacommacah/Jamestown

Pocahontas led them through the forest, heading away from the bayside town and deeper into the trees. She didn't explain anything beyond telling them she knew of a safe place for them to stay for a while and talk, and she warned them to keep quiet as they traveled. At first, Kaoru thought it was because she didn't want to attract any more Heartless, but then he realized she didn't want to be noticed by anyone. He and Rin glanced at each other, silently asking each other if they could trust the mysterious woman, even if it was too late to really turn back. Finally, Pocahontas led them out of the trees entirely and toward the bank of a river. A canoe lay overturned on the shore, guarded by a raccoon that stood to attention the moment it saw them, and a blue hummingbird that sped immediately toward them.

Pocahontas held up her hand to stop the hummingbird. "Flit! Flit, it's okay! They're friends."

Kaoru swore the hummingbird glared at him and Rin with suspicion for a minute before making a series of squeaking noises at Pocahontas. Then it flew toward his face, making him flinch. The hummingbird, Flit, studied him closely for a minute before he flew toward Rinally, giving her the same treatment. Then, seemingly satisfied, Flit darted back to Pocahontas and zipped around her for a minute before heading straight back to the canoe and the raccoon.

Pocahontas looked at Kaoru and Rin sheepishly. "Sorry. He doesn't like strangers."

"It's okay." Kaoru assured her. "It isn't the worst welcome we've had."

"I bet you have lots of stories to tell. I want to hear them all, but I think we first have to get you two out of sight." Pocahontas led them to the canoe, which she flipped over and pushed toward the water. Flit and the raccoon, whose name was Meeko, jumped in immediately. Kaoru and Rin followed after, settling themselves in the bottom of the canoe as gingerly as they could. Pocahontas pushed the canoe further into the water and jumped in, taking up the only paddle and allowing the river to help push them along to wherever she was taking them.

Kaoru watched the scenery as they floated along, smiling at the sight of the lush forest on either side of the river. The trees went unbroken for miles, with just the sounds of the wildlife and river accompanying the sights. It was beautiful.

"Hey, I have to ask," Rinally said, sitting up in the canoe with her arm hooked awkwardly over the side, "do you live in that town back there?"

Pocahontas shook her head and paddled in silence for a while. "No, I don't live there. My village is further inland, hidden."

"So what's that place, then?"

"The white men call it Jamestown."

Kaoru twisted to look at Pocahontas. "Do you know anything about Jamestown? And why is the road between it and the forest so unused?"

Pocahontas' shoulders lifted slightly, as if she was trying to keep from shrugging but was completing the motion anyway. "A friend of mine lives there. Or, I thought he was a friend. Suddenly he began acting strange, different from how he was before."

Kaoru frowned. "Did he start acting differently when the Heartless started to appear?"

Pocahontas slowly shook her head. "No. It was after. That's why the road looks the way it does. We agreed it would be safer for everyone if we limited travel through the forest. But then strangers appeared in Jamestown and he began to listen to them more than he listened to me."

Kaoru and Rin exchanged a glance. Both of them wondered the same thing - were the strangers Pocahontas spoke of part of the same organization of the man from Belle's world? How many people were part of this organization? And, perhaps most importantly, what was their goal?

"Did you see what they looked like?" Rin asked, shivering as the spray of the river touched her skin.

Pocahontas shook her head. "They wear long black cloaks."

"Did you see anything else?"

"No. For the safety of both the white men and my people, we don't go into Jamestown, but meet outside the gate to trade. So I've never been within their village."

"Did these cloaked people come to your village?"

"Not yet. But we've been watching what they've been doing at Jamestown, especially with Ratcliffe, and our warriors are standing ready." Pocahontas frowned slightly. She looked at Kaoru and Rin with a strange quirk to her lips, as if she were mulling something over. Then she put the paddle to the water and steered them in a different direction. The river changed from a violent deluge to a calm flow, and the trees grew thicker around them. Despite that, it also seemed to get brighter as sunshine shone down from above, slipping through leaves to the water below. "I don't think it would be safe for you two to be in my village right now."

"No, probably not." Kaoru agreed.

"So where are we going?" Rin asked.

Pocahontas smiled. "I'm taking you to a safe place. Grandmother Willow will keep watch over you until we can figure out what's going on. I'm certain you two are the only ones who can deal with whatever's actually going on, and I feel I need to help you in whatever way I can."

Kaoru and Rinally exchanged a look, but they decided not to ask Pocahontas what she meant. She was right, of course. Because of Guardian and Rinally's magic, the two of them _were_ the only ones who could defeat the Heartless - and possibly the only ones who could help ease the tension that was slowly strangling Jamestown and Pocahontas' friendship with the man she had mentioned. Yet, they weren't sure what they were getting themselves into, and beyond the few clues they had been able to get from Pocahontas herself, they didn't actually know much about the enemy they were bound to face here. Kaoru didn't want Pocahontas putting herself at risk trying to help them. If she drew too much attention to herself, then she might inadvertently reveal Kaoru and Rin's presence here. Of course, if she didn't, then Kaoru and Rin were essentially stuck hiding if they couldn't go out and discover clues for themselves.

Pocahontas guided the canoe toward a great willow tree in the center of a watery glen. The tree was huge, larger than any tree Kaoru had ever seen in his life. Its drooping branches danced gently in the wind, brushing over the water's surface with a mother's gentle caress. Kaoru peered over the side of the canoe into the water, and was surprised to see fish darting to and fro beneath the clear surface, heading in and out from the center of the watery glen. He looked up toward the curving branches of the willow tree, awed at the expanse of drooping, green curtain. The tree seemed to reach an impossible distance, even for one so obviously old. And, just at the edge of his senses, he felt a whisper of power, of ancient knowledge, of kindness and of light. He saw Rinally give a full-body shiver, and her lips parted to let a breath puff out.

"There's magic here," Rin said softly, reaching over the side of the canoe to let her fingers trail through the water. She lifted her hand and watched as the crystalline water droplets caught the sunlight, making them sparkle like gems.

Pocahontas laughed. "Yes, there is. Because of Grandmother Willow."

"Oh ho! I hear a familiar voice! Pocahontas, is that you?"

Kaoru jumped slightly at the old woman's voice that rang out from the trunk of the willow tree. He craned his head, trying to spot the old woman but failing to. Pocahontas guided the canoe right up to a stump of a tree before the trunk of the weeping willow. She held the craft steady as Rinally and Kaoru got out onto the stump, then smiled brilliantly up at the tree. Kaoru ducked his head slightly as a bright light radiated from Pocahontas, not as bright as the light from Belle, but close enough to it that he was slightly blinded. Rin seemed not to notice.

"Grandmother Willow," Pocahontas started, her smile filled with love, "these two are new friends of mine. He is Kaoru, and she is Rinally. They both saved me from the evil spirits that haunt the woods now."

Kaoru turned his head to look at the gnarled trunk of the tree. It took a moment to recognize the grandmotherly face staring back at him from the bark, its lips turned up in a gentle smile. The willow tree's knotted eyebrows drew together as she studied the two teenagers before her, her eyes narrowing slightly as she focused on Kaoru most of all. Then her gaze became soft and warm, and her mouth widened in a welcoming and grateful smile. "I thank you, Kaoru and Rinally, for protecting my little Pocahontas."

"Um," started Kaoru, "you're welcome, Grandmother Willow."

"Grandmother Willow, would you be willing to watch over these two until I can find a way to get them into my village?" Pocahontas asked. "They seem to know quite a bit about the evil spirits - they call them Heartless - and the strangers that are in Jamestown now."

Grandmother Willow's branches rustled, and Kaoru wasn't sure if it was the wind or the tree herself making them shake. "Of course I'll watch over them. You don't have to ask that, my child."

Pocahontas smiled gratefully. She looked at Kaoru and Rin then, as she picked up the paddle to the canoe. "I'm going to talk to my father. If he agrees, then I'll come back and get you. You'll be safe here."

"Pocahontas," Grandmother Willow said, curling one long branch around the handle of the paddle in Pocahontas' hands to stay her, "please be careful. I know you wish to save John, but being reckless won't help anything."

The raven-haired woman looked up at Grandmother Willow, her lips turned down in a severe frown. "I _know_ that. But you didn't see what I saw. You didn't see these two destroy that Heartless with the power of the gods. I _believe_ they can do it! That they can help me! Help all of us. I need to convince my father of this. If I can convince my father to allow them into the village, then they could help us find a way to not just protect ourselves, but stop others from being hurt. You know what Ratcliffe has been trying to do! If he succeeds..." Pocahontas stopped, her voice thick with unshed tears. "If he succeeds, everything we know and love will be gone. I won't... I _can't_... allow that... Not with the answers standing right in front of us."

Kaoru looked from Pocahontas to Grandmother Willow, seeing the sadness in the old woman's bark face, and the reluctance to let go of that paddle. He shifted and knelt down before Grandmother Willow, placing his right hand over his heart. "Grandmother Willow, I understand how scared you are. You don't want to lose Pocahontas to the darkness you can sense. I promise you, I won't let that happen. I will do everything I can to protect her, but I can't do it without help. I'm a Keyblade Wielder. It's my duty to protect worlds from those who are trying to destroy them."

The ancient willow tree was silent for a long time as she regarded the blonde-haired boy before her. Kaoru kept his gaze firmly on those tree-bark eyes, knowing that if he faltered, even a little bit, Grandmother Willow might not believe his words. Finally, the branch unwound from Pocahontas' paddle and withdrew into the rustling mass overhead.

"Be careful, child." Grandmother Willow whispered. "Come back soon."

Pocahontas smiled. "I will." With a gentle splash, she and the canoe were heading back the way they had come, and soon she was out of sight, the only signs of her passing the ripples upon the water.

Kaoru finally relaxed and sat back on the stump, looking up toward the sunlight that made Grandmother Willow's branches glow. Rinally blew out a breath and sat as well, leaning back on her hands as she closed her eyes. The tree herself seemed to relax as well, though there was still a tinge of worry at the corners of her mouth and eyes. Then Grandmother Willow's eyes focused on Kaoru, and the wind rustled her branches, as if it was reacting to the sigh she released. "I sense," Grandmother Willow began, "that you two are seeking something as well."

Kaoru nodded, as did Rin. "We've been looking for someone named Sora." he said. "Have you met him before?"

"Hm... Sora... Sora..." Grandmother Willow's face screwed up in an expression of confusion as she thought. At last her drooping branches shivered, as if the tree were shaking her head. "No, I'm afraid not. I know just about everything and everyone within these woods, and then some."

Kaoru leaned forward. "Maybe you've seen a girl? She's about as tall as me, with brown hair and violet eyes. And there might be a boy with her, kind of big with black hair and blue eyes?"

Again Grandmother Willow's branches shivered in that negative way. "No, no one like that has been seen lately. The birds and animals are my eyes and ears, so what they know, I know. The only descriptions of strangers I've been given are those of the black-clad men in Jamestown. No one has been able to see their faces, but they're dangerous. Predators. And they seem to be able to control the evil spirits lurking in the forest. I'm sorry. The Heartless."

Kaoru and Rinally looked at each other. Then they looked back toward Grandmother Willow. Rin folded her legs beneath her as she sat up straighter. "Grandmother Willow, have the birds and other animals seen the strangers with a black rod? It's only about this long," she held her hands about a foot apart, "and can be hidden in a pocket."

There was chittering somewhere above their heads, hidden within the verdant green of Grandmother Willow's leaves. The ancient tree nodded sagely at whatever the squirrel was saying, then focused on the two teenagers. "They say they _did_ see such a rod, and that the strangers offered one to the chieftain of the white men in Jamestown, the one called Ratcliffe. What he did with it, no one knows. But... but it was _after_ Ratcliffe took it that Pocahontas' friend, John Smith, began acting strangely."

Kaoru felt something in his stomach twist uncomfortably. He remembered Gaston almost immediately, how the man had changed into a monster once the black rod had been inserted into his skin. The darkness had overwhelmed him and had converted him into a beast. So far, it didn't sound like Pocahontas' friend had been transformed, but if he was acting differently, then perhaps the rods simply didn't just change a human into a creature of pure darkness. Perhaps they could also be used to _control_ a human, then, rather just transforming them. _I wonder why Gaston was transformed then, and not this John Smith._ Kaoru frowned slightly. _I guess I'll have to find that out. Why it affects people differently. I know those rods definitely control Heartless, and I thought that's all that these people were after. But now, I'm not so sure._

He looked up at Grandmother Willow. "Is there anything else they saw? Maybe where these people in coats disappear off to? Or how they travel? Did they see any other strangers?"

The old woman's face in the bark hummed softly. "No, no. No one saw anything else or heard anything else. I'll ask everyone to keep an eye on Jamestown and report on anything strange that they might see. It's the least I can do for you, since you helped my little Pocahontas."

Kaoru smiled. "Thank you, Grandmother Willow."

"Um, I don't mean to be rude," Rinally started, "but do you think that maybe we could get something to eat? I haven't eaten since we left... well. Since we left."

Grandmother Willow twittered with laughter, the noise echoed by the birds and squirrels flashing about in her branches. She smiled down at the teenagers. "Of course, of course. Well, everyone? Shall we see what we can do for our friends?"

The squirrels and birds twittered again and there was a raucous rustling as the creatures in Grandmother Willow's branches rushed to and fro. Then there was silence, save for the distant chirping and chittering of the squirrels and birds as they rushed to fulfill Grandmother Willow's, and Rinally's, request.


	18. Chapter 18

Seventeen - Tsenacommacah/Jamestown

Kaoru dangled his feet in the cool, clear water of the river, staring at his reflection in the gently rippling water. His thoughts raced back and forth like hyperactive chipmunks, dancing between everything from if he would ever find his friends and Sora to how he was going to help Pocahontas in her endeavor to free her friend. He also wondered how he was going to fight the cloaked strangers when he didn't even know how they worked and operated, or what their real motive was. He only knew what he had experienced, and he'd barely survived that in one piece. He knew what the black rods could do, especially to a human, but he didn't understand how they worked. He looked at his hand then, but his skin was unblemished. There were no signs of where the rod he'd removed from Gaston had singed him.

Rinally touched his shoulder and sat beside him, removing her shoes as she did. She slid her feet into the water and wiggled her toes. "So one of the birds says Pocahontas is on her way back. Seems like her talk with her dad didn't go so well."

Kaoru smiled slightly. "I don't doubt. I mean, from what I understand, this whole place used to belong to Pocahontas' people and then the people in Jamestown showed up out of the blue and started taking over. I doubt her dad's that eager to let us wander into the village."

"But we're here to help."

"I don't think that matters."

Rin blew out a breath. "I wonder what we can do here, really. If we can't get into either place, we'll just be sitting here until something happens. And that something is usually bad."

"We won't sit around until something happens. We'll figure something out."

"Something bad is definitely going to happen, though."

"Yeah," Kaoru agreed softly. He tilted his head back and looked up at the sunlight trickling through Grandmother Willow's branches. "The question is, what?"

"You don't think They will make more monsters like Gaston? You barely survived that."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Well, it's true."

"I'm getting stronger. Besides, I think I'm on equal footing this time around. There's not that much darkness concentrated here."

Rin hummed. "That's true. If anything, the light still dominates out here. And I haven't seen any Heartless since the first one we saw when we got here."

"I know. Don't you think that's strange?"

"Definitely."

"That only means one of two things. Either They haven't released the Heartless here yet, or there's nothing important about this place that They need to release the Heartless for."

"You know, I really didn't see any Heartless back on Belle's world, either, at least until they attacked the castle. Just that one that Gaston had in the cage. I'm not sure They're using Heartless as weapons. Remember what that guy said? They had no interest in Belle, just the Beast."

"But why?"

Kaoru shrugged. "Well, I think he wanted to see what would happen if he put that rod into the Beast. You saw what happened with Gaston. I think They want to see what it'll do to someone who isn't corrupted by darkness."

Rin leaned back on her hands and wiggled her toes in the water, frowning. "So what you're saying is, They experimented first on Heartless, learned that They could control them, and now they want to see what it'll do to people?"

"Not just any people. People who are light-oriented, but not fully." Kaoru twisted to face her, holding one finger up like he was making a point. "They can't use Belle or any Princess of Heart, because they're full of light. The rods won't work on them, not like how they want. But that guy wanted to see what it would do to the Beast. He's light-oriented, but there's still a touch of darkness in him, too."

"But that guy didn't stick around to see what happened to Gaston. Does that mean he already knew what would happen if he stuck that rod in someone who was darkness-oriented?"

"Not necessarily, but I figure that wasn't why he was there. He wanted something specific, and didn't get it. There wasn't a reason for him to stick around."

Rin tapped her fingers against her lips and canted her head to the side. "So what's the end game in all this? You said when you were little, you saw a rod like the ones we have sticking out of the chest of a Heartless. You heard Sora say that They were controlling it. Then, in Traverse Town, we fought that one Heartless that had a rod inside it, too. So, obviously, They've already figured out that They can control Heartless with these rods. You'd think that would end there, right? Even if they have to fight Keyblade wielders like you, They still have the advantage, you know? Why bother trying to find out what these rods do to people, light-oriented or otherwise?"

"I don't know." Kaoru said, looking away from Rin and blowing out a sigh. He looked back at his reflection in the water. "Every time I think we get some answers, we end up with more questions. I wish we could find Sora and Riku. They have to have answers, since they've been fighting against these guys for years."

"Well, let's think about what we _do_ know." Rin pulled her feet out of the water and leaned to the side so she could curl her legs beside her. "We know that They are experimenting. Which means, whatever their end game is, they're not sure that they can reach it yet. They want to test these rods on people, and not just anyone. So far, we know They wanted to test one of those rods on the Beast, who's the closest to Belle, a Princess of Heart. We don't know if They've experimented on anyone else. They're also here, on this world, and from what we've learned, Pocahontas' friend, John Smith, has started acting strangely. But she's not a Princess. A princess, but not a _Princess_."

"So there has to be another reason that They're here. Something we haven't figured out yet."

"Do you think it's as simple as Sora and Riku having never been here?"

"I don't think so. I mean, if it were just that, then why bother drawing Sora and Riku's attention in the first place?"

"Point made." Rin tilted her head back and looked up at the drooping branches of Grandmother Willow's hair. She blew out a sigh. "What if we're looking at it too deep? What if it's as obvious as They're just trying to control people?"

"Why would They want to control people?"

"Why does anyone do anything?" Rin retorted tartly. "It doesn't make any sense otherwise. That guy we met before wanted access to the Beast, but ended up making Gaston change into that monster. He didn't stay around to watch it happen, so we can assume They already know what happens to people who are dark-oriented. They want to know what happens to people who are light-oriented. They don't want to draw Riku and Sora's attention so they're not doing anything drastic, like using the Heartless to make the world implode, like what happened to our worlds. And They don't know we're here yet."

Kaoru frowned at his reflection in the water. "We're not even sure that They're the ones responsible for unleashing the Heartless on our worlds."

"They're the ones who are using them."

"Guilty by association?"

Rin nodded. "By themselves, the Heartless shouldn't have been able to grow so strong as to devour all these worlds again. Especially if there are Keyblade users keeping on top of everything. I think They were trying to do something, it backfired, and they needed to cover it up."

Kaoru didn't refute her, but he wasn't quite sure she was right. There were too many questions and not enough answers. He only knew what he had seen and experienced for himself. He had watched the man from the mysterious organization of no name (so far) drive one of those rods into Gaston, turning him into a monster. He had learned from that same man that he had really wanted the Beast, not Belle, who was a bigger prize than her husband, but for what purpose Kaoru hadn't the slightest clue. The man hadn't exactly been forthcoming with that particular bit of information. If Rin was right, that They were experimenting on controlling people, then there was something else that they were after. It was something much bigger than simply seeing what the black rods would do to someone, light-oriented or otherwise. He wasn't even certain the destruction of Paradise City or Rin's Sky Islands was the fault of the organization. He was sure They'd had a hand in it, but he wasn't sure if the blame could be placed solely on them.

Kaoru looked up from his reflection and looked at Rin. "I think what we have to do is set aside any assumptions we might have, and look at what we're faced with right now. We have to help Pocahontas save her friend. If he's really being controlled, then we have to figure out how to save him. If we keep trying to figure it all out before we have anything more than what we do, we're going to start thinking in circles, and we're going to get frustrated."

Rin nodded. "You're right. We really need to get a notebook or something so we can keep all our facts straight. We only know what we've seen and suppose everything else."

"If we keep moving forward," Kaoru said, "we'll find out everything. Then we'll have to work to stop it."

"Aren't we already doing that?"

"I mean really work. We can't count on Sora and Riku to do everything."

Rin smiled and gave Kaoru's shoulder a light push. "I'm here to back you up, Kaoru. I'm your pocket healer, after all."

Kaoru smiled back at her. Before he could say anything else, Grandmother Willow suddenly shook, waking from her nap with an almost violent tremor. Her eyes widened as if in fear. Kaoru and Rin turned to face her, both tense and ready for action. Moments later, Pocahontas sailed her canoe through Grandmother Willow's branches, and she wasn't alone. There was a young man in the canoe with her, looking pale and shaken, sporting bruises on his face and a hastily-bandaged arm that he hugged to his chest. The bandage was stained with blood and looked fresh. He had short brown hair that looked wet as did his woolen clothes, and had his cap pulled down over his eyes, as if he were trying to hide his face.

Pocahontas paddled her canoe right up to the tree stump and Kaoru reached to steady the vessel as Pocahontas climbed out. She turned and offered her hand to the young man. "Here, Thomas," Pocahontas said gently, "come on. These are my friends."

Thomas at last looked up at Pocahontas, then turned his gaze onto Kaoru and Rin. His eyes widened at the sight of Rin's hair, pointing at her with a little stutter. Rin frowned, folding her arms over her chest. "Yes, it's pink. Yes, it's real. Now get out of that boat so I can heal you." she snapped.

Pocahontas smiled sympathetically at the young man and helped him out of the canoe. Grandmother Willow looked at Pocahontas with worried expectance. Pocahontas smiled weakly. "I was on my way back from the village when I saw him in the river. Thomas is a good friend of John," she explained, "and he was hurt. I couldn't leave him to drown, and I couldn't let him die."

Thomas shivered as Rinally took hold of his injured arm and pulled it away from his chest, unwrapping the bandages to reveal a long, ragged wound that was red and puffy. Kaoru knelt beside Rin, taking hold of Thomas' arm when Rin told him to. "What happened to you?" he asked.

Thomas sucked in a breath as Rin's cool healing magic coursed through him, and he let out a soft curse as he watched the wound on his forearm began to heal itself under Rinally's careful guidance. "John happened to me." He looked at Pocahontas, his expression apologetic. "He's gone completely mad. He and Ratcliffe are as thick as thieves now."

Pocahontas shook her head. "That's not possible. That's not the John Smith I know."

"It's not the John Smith I know either," Thomas said, "but it's true. I... I'm not proud of it, but I snuck into Ratcliffe's house to try and see if I could figure out the reason for John's sudden change. I remember how he was with you, with me, with everyone in Jamestown, how he defended us from Ratcliffe's insanity and how outspoken he was about being friends with the savages - I mean - the Indians, rather than pushing them out. But ever since those strangers came, John started agreeing with Ratcliffe. He even helped develop plans to attack your village, Pocahontas."

Pocahontas stiffened. "No. He couldn't. He wouldn't!"

"He did. I saw the plans. Ratcliffe has been stockpiling weapons in his house, guns and the like, that your people have no chance against. They caught me, him and John. Ratcliffe ordered John to kill me." Thomas waved his other hand toward his face, where the bruises were fading with the help of Rin's magic. "He did this to me. I managed to escape and got out of the house to the street. I saw Ratcliffe give John a knife and he ordered John not to let me go this time. I got this," he gestured to the cut along his arm which had now closed up and was slowly fading, "when he cornered me in an alley. He wasn't himself, I saw that. His eyes were completely soulless. He really was going to kill me, but it seemed like after he cut me, he regained his senses. He let me go."

Kaoru looked toward Rin. Her lips were drawn in a thin line as she focused on healing Thomas' wounds. He looked toward Pocahontas then, taking note of her stricken expression. He let go of Thomas when Rin finished healing him and reached to touch Pocahontas' shoulder. "Don't worry, Pocahontas. We'll fix this. From what Thomas said, John isn't fully under Ratcliffe's control. He fought against the order he was given so that Thomas could escape to warn us."

Pocahontas closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath to calm herself. She opened her eyes and regarded Kaoru with a serious expression. "I don't want to choose between my people and my friends." she said at last. "I can't choose between my people and my friends. I want to save everyone."

Rin grinned widely. "You don't have to choose. You have me and Kaoru to help you. Kaoru can go with Thomas back to Jamestown. I'll go with you back to your village."

Pocahontas looked somewhere between torn and relieved. "But my father-"

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Rin said. "I don't have to go _in_ your village. I just have to stay outside where I can see everything. You said yourself that you thought my magic was something from the gods. If your father can't see me, then he'd have no reason not to believe the same thing."

Pocahontas looked up at Grandmother Willow, a pleading look in her dark eyes. The old willow tree was silent for a while, her eyes closed in thought and her lips pursed. Finally, Grandmother Willow opened her eyes and regarded all those before her with a slight frown. "I don't approve of tricking your father so," Grandmother Willow said at last, "but sometimes deception is necessary. I think you should do as Rinally says, my dear. Sometimes it's better to ask forgiveness than permission."

Pocahontas smiled, but there was a tinge of worry to it. She nodded. "Okay. Thomas, do you think you can get back into Jamestown safely?"

Thomas flexed his arm, marveling at the unbroken skin and the barely visible scar. "Huh? Oh, yes. There's a way out that John showed me once that I don't think Ratcliffe knows about. I'm sure we can use the same way to get back in." He looked at Kaoru, frowning a little bit. "But, do you really think you can do anything to help?"

Kaoru smiled. "I've had some experience in this area before. I just need to get into Jamestown, and then I need to get to John Smith. If we can make sure we're alone when we get to him, then I can help him."

Thomas smiled, though there was still a little uncertainty in it. "All right. But we have to hurry. I don't know how much time we have left."

"We work well under pressure." Rin replied, giving Thomas a bright smile.

Thomas looked up at Pocahontas. She lifted her shoulders slightly, but moved to get back into the canoe. The others followed her in, making it quite the tight fit. Grandmother Willow parted her branches to allow Pocahontas to guide the canoe out and onto the river. "Be careful, all of you." said the ancient tree. "I sense there is a storm coming, a violent and terrible one. It may be wiser to take shelter than stand out in the rain."


	19. Chapter 19

Eighteen - Tsenacommacah/Jamestown

They stayed together until they reached a point in the path that split, one heading toward Pocahontas' village and the other heading to Jamestown. Rinally waved goodbye to Kaoru and quickly caught up to Pocahontas. By the time she turned around to check Kaoru's progress, he and Thomas had already disappeared. She inhaled softly and gripped her staff tight, focusing on the trail before her. Beside her, Pocahontas remained silent, her face set in a determined mask. Nervousness was filling Rin, making her want to talk; she chattered when she was nervous. But she bit her tongue and pressed her lips together and focused on following Pocahontas through the trees. Eventually, Rin began to smell the welcoming scent of a wood-fire, and she soon could see smoke rising above the trees each time there was a break in the canopy.

"This way." Pocahontas said, leading Rin down a new path. They hurried through the trees in a wide circle. Rin caught flashes of open ground beyond the trees, and in the distance she could see beautifully decorated tents that were arranged in a wide circle. People moved about between the tents, people with the same black hair and copper skin as Pocahontas. They moved with a sense of urgency, keeping their steps as quiet as possible just in case there were guards stationed out in the forest, or something worse.

Rin was pretty confident that she could take out a few Heartless on her own with magic, but she still would have preferred to have Kaoru's Keyblade. Her role here wasn't to stop the Heartless, but to stop the men who were preparing to attack Pocahontas' people. If she could use her magic to make them think that the gods were choosing sides, or maybe make them even more afraid of hurting the native people, then she could protect everyone from getting hurt.

They traveled through the forest for a few minutes longer until Pocahontas brought her to a small rise. It was little more than a hill that pushed up from the forest floor, and it was completely exposed. Anyone could see them if they chose to look. However, it also had an unobstructed view of Pocahontas' village and the surrounding area. Rin could see clearly for miles, and she could safely use her magic without causing any real harm to anyone. Pocahontas stood like a statue on the rise, her gaze turned toward her village. Smoke was rising from a dozen or so fires. It looked like the entire village was preparing for war.

"Stay here." Pocahontas told Rin. "I'll go down and see what's happening. I'll be back soon."

"Okay. Be careful."

Pocahontas gave Rin a bright smile, then hurried down the hill and disappeared into the forest. Moments later, Rinally saw her sprinting across the field, approaching her village. A cry went up, and the warriors that had once been milling about suddenly snapped to attention and readied themselves for the attack that hadn't yet come. When they saw that it was only their princess, the warriors relaxed, but only slightly. They still were tense and wary, constantly looking over the land as if expecting a horde to come pelting out of the trees after Pocahontas. Then she disappeared from Rinally's sight, and the girl settled down on the rise, resting her staff across her knees.

She wished that she could be in the village, where it would be far easier to defend the people. Nothing had happened yet, but there was a tenseness to the air that felt like something was waiting to break and let chaos loose upon the land. Rin looked to the sky, studying the bright blue. It was perfectly clear. She remembered Grandmother Willow's words and inhaled softly, letting the air whistle out from between her teeth. "It's waiting for the storm that's the hard part." Rin whispered to herself.

Rin wasn't sure how long she was by herself on that hill. She changed her position and sat crosslegged, bracing her chin on her fist as she watched the village below. "Bored..." Rin sighed. She wondered what Kaoru was doing right now. Certainly it was much more exciting than this. Definitely more dangerous. She straightened as she noticed movement coming from the village. The figure looked slimmer and slightly smaller than Pocahontas, but then distance had a way of playing tricks on one's vision.

Rin got to her feet but tried to make herself as small as possible. She held her staff at the ready, but she didn't prepare any of her magic. She didn't want to attack someone coming from Pocahontas' village. It could be Pocahontas disguised, after all, or maybe a friend of hers. The figure disappeared into the trees, and then reappeared at the base of the rise. It wasn't Pocahontas, but a slighter, shorter girl with shorter hair pulled back into a ponytail. Rin crouched, waiting, and when the girl crested the hill, she spotted Rin and let out a startled gasp before she slapped her hands over her own mouth. After a moment, she lowered her hands.

"Are you... are you Rinally?" the girl asked. Rin wasn't the least bit surprised that the girl stared at her hair instead of her face.

"Yes." Rin answered, fighting to relax. "Who are you?"

"I am Nakoma." Nakoma glanced around them, as if realizing how exposed they were. She knelt down and Rin followed suit. "Pocahontas sent me. Her father, Chief Powhatan, refuses to let her leave the village now. The white men have been spotted approaching from Jamestown. It'll be a few hours more before they reach us."

"Did she tell you what I'm here to do?"

Nakoma nodded. "She did. She said you were one of the gods sent to help us. You would call down a thunderstorm or something and stop the white men from destroying our village."

Rin smiled slightly. "Eh, close enough. I'll do what I can to help. It might be safer if you evacuated everyone, though. Took them somewhere to hide that would be easily defended."

Nakoma shook her head. "We've taken the children somewhere safe, but the warriors and the chief are determined to protect what is ours from the invaders. Pocahontas tried to convince her father otherwise. She said that you and a boy had come to help us."

"He went to help stop the fight in another way." Rinally said. She didn't feel like revealing to Nakoma that Kaoru was trying to help Thomas free John Smith and stop the brewing fight on the other side. "I'm here to help you as much as I can."

Nakoma looked over Rinally with a skeptical gaze, her eyes once again lingering on Rin's pink hair. Rinally twirled her staff, making Nakoma jump. Rin smiled. "Yes, it's really pink. Yes, it's real. Now, what else did Pocahontas tell you to do? Certainly it wasn't just to run up here and tell me she's pretty much a prisoner in her own village?"

Nakoma's eyes narrowed slightly. "No, not that. Not just that." she corrected herself. "She wanted me to help to sneak you into the village. If you're there, then maybe you can help us more. At least, you'd be able to ensure the white men would stop their advance if they saw the power you could wield."

It occurred to Rin that Nakoma didn't believe for one minute that Rinally was going to be of any use. She was only helping because Pocahontas had asked her to, and she was honoring her friend's request. It didn't matter if Pocahontas had described what Rin had done, or what she could possibly do; Nakoma had already made her decision based on what Rin looked like. That got Rin's back up, of course. She hated people making assumptions about her based on her appearance alone. _I doubt they'd assume the same about Kaoru if they saw him with his Keyblade._ she thought sourly. She disliked the fact that she was always the 'lesser' of the pair, when in truth she just might be the stronger one.

"All right," Rinally said at last, "take me to your leader."

Nakoma frowned deeply. "We don't want the chieftain to-"

"It's an expression. Let's go."

Nakoma huffed but turned away and started down the hill. Rinally followed, staring at Nakoma's back. They headed through the trees, moving carefully and slowly. Nakoma looked this way and that, searching for guards or watchers or anyone that might alert someone to their presence. She gestured for Rin to follow, then hurried across the open space between the forest and the village. Rin sucked in a breath - never before had she been so self-conscious about her pink hair until now - then quickly followed Nakoma across the open space. Since there was no alarm raised, and no one yelled at them to stop, their flight across the field as filled only with the sound of their hearts thrumming in the ears and the exhilaration of panic at possibly being spotted. Both of them reached the first tent of the village and practically hugged it as they caught their breath.

Nakoma crouched down and Rinally followed suit. "I'll go first," Nakoma whispered. "I'll signal you to follow. Do whatever you can to stay out of sight."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

Nakoma glanced at Rin with a raised brow, then darted around the tent to another one. She edged out, looking this way and that. Then she signaled for Rin to join her. Rin hurried to catch up with Nakoma, and this was how they crossed the village. There was only one moment of pure panic when a warrior spotted Nakoma skulking about and called out to her. Rin ducked back around the current tent she was hiding behind and held her breath, fighting not to breathe too loudly or make an inadvertent move that might draw the warrior's attention to her. Nakoma was perfect in her act, smiling shyly at the warrior and speaking quickly to him about why she was running about when there was a war about to happen. Rin heard Pocahontas' name dropped a few times, but when Rin leaned out slightly to gauge Nakoma's progress, the warrior's expression told her that there was no chance of Nakoma wiggling out of this situation.

It was the one thing that Rin didn't want to have happen. The more time they wasted here, dealing with this warrior, the more likely it was that they would be taken unawares. Even if there were warriors watching for the settlers' approach, it wasn't likely that Rin would end up in a prime position to deal with them, if this warrior wouldn't let Nakoma go.

"Please, Kocoum." Nakoma said, edging on desperate. "You know I wouldn't be out here unless it was important. I just had to get something for Pocahontas. You know how she gets if she doesn't have something to distract her."

"I know that quite well," responded the warrior, Kocoum. "But Chief Powhatan's orders were clear. If I make an exception for you, then everyone else will want to leave to get something."

"Just this once? I'm on my way back right now. I won't leave again. It's for Pocahontas."

Rin saw how Kocoum's eyebrows drew together. His lips thinned into a line and he frowned at Nakoma, who looked just on the edge of desperate. She was holding her calm facade beautifully, especially for one who was under pressure, but cracks were starting to show. She glanced toward the tent where Rinally was hiding, then back at Kocoum. When Kocoum's eyes slid toward the tent, Rin knew he'd noticed Nakoma's motion. His face became stony and he turned toward the tent. He pushed Nakoma behind him and readied a hunting knife. Nakoma made a sound of protest and started to try and reach for Kocoum's arm, to try and pull him back, but the warrior was too quick and too strong. Rinally didn't have anywhere to go; he would catch her even if she tried to run. But she couldn't _get_ caught.

A shrill cry went up from the edge of the village, like that of an eagle. Kocoum stopped and turned toward the sound, every line of his body drawn and taut, ready for action. Nakoma turned to look too, her eyes going wide. Kocoum grabbed Nakoma by the shoulder then, hissed something into her ear, then gave her a light push away from him. Nakoma took a few steps away and watched Kocoum run down the center of the village, vanishing into the distance. Rin waited a minute, then stepped out from behind the tent and hurried up to Nakoma. The woman's face was set into a decidedly miserable expression, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Are you okay?" Rin asked.

Nakoma rubbed her fist against her eyes and took a deep breath. "I wish we didn't have to fight. I don't want anyone to get hurt, especially Kocoum."

"You like him?"

Nakoma's lips drew into a thin line.

"You like him." Rin said with a smile.

Nakoma looked at the pink-haired girl with an unreadable expression. She looked like she wanted to cry, scream, and laugh in pain all at the same time. "I do, but... but I'm not the one he wants."

"So who does he... oh. Oh. _Ooooh_." Rin covered her mouth with her hand as understanding washed through her. "I see."

Nakoma nodded, taking a deep, calming breath as she did so. "He asked for Pocahontas' hand in marriage. Her father, Chief Powhatan, gave his permission. But Pocahontas doesn't love him. She doesn't... like him like I do."

"Can't you tell him?"

Nakoma shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Because it just isn't done that way. He's already made his choice."

"So? People change their minds all the time. Pocahontas is pretty, sure. She's got lots of things going for her, least of which are the size of her... well." Rin's lips twitched into a smile. "Well, she _is_ a princess. And who doesn't want to make it with the princess? You just have to tell him how you feel, and if he's too thick to see it, then he doesn't deserve you anyway."

Nakoma just stared at Rinally for a minute, her mouth slightly open as she gaped at the girl. Rin smiled sweetly and innocently. Finally, Nakoma shook her head, pushing away whatever she had been about to say. "Follow me, and stay close."

Nakoma took off running again, this time not bothering to be sneaky or subtle. Rin kept up with her, clutching her staff and looking toward the direction Kocoum had run off in. Smoke was rising in the distance, from where Jamestown lay. She could hear the slow roll of drums, calling the men to war. Nakoma ran faster, as if she were racing time itself. Rinally tried to go faster to keep up, but Nakoma had longer legs. Finally, the woman stopped and pointed toward a range of trees surrounding a hill. Rinally stopped beside her, doubled over to pant for air.

"Go there." Nakoma pointed toward the hill with more insistence. "Go there, and you'll be able to see everything. I have to go get Pocahontas."

"Okay." Rin said, panting. "I'll go there. Don't get caught."

Nakoma smiled slightly and took off in the other direction. Rinally watched her go for a minute, then took a deep breath and ran for the trees. As she ran, she looked toward the open field and saw the warriors of Pocahontas' tribe crouched among the low grasses and the few trees that were clumped in the field. Beyond them was a long field, maybe a mile across, and then another stretch of trees. Rin could see shadows moving within the trees, man-shaped, with a strange protrusion which looked like some sort of stick. She shivered, put her head down, and ran with all the speed she could muster toward the hill, praying she would make it in time.

 _Kaoru, please be okay. Please be alive. I don't know if I can do this without you. Stopping Heartless is one thing; stopping a war is something entirely different, especially when you're only one person and no one thinks you can do anything._

She reached the hill and climbed up it, falling to her knees on the crest of the hill. As she knelt there panting, Rin looked out onto the field and clutched her staff, feeling as though she was watching the calm before the storm.


	20. Chapter 20

Nineteen - Tsenacommacah/Jamestown

Kaoru followed Thomas through the forest, picking their way through the trees toward Jamestown. Kaoru was tense, eyes flickering this way and that. He could sense the Heartless out there in the deeper forest. They were pockets of darkness, spots of hunger and mindlessness, slowly writhing toward the warmth of hearts. They weren't moving fast - Kaoru was certain they could outrun them if the Heartless decided to attack - but they certainly were moving. He just couldn't tell if the Heartless were moving toward or away from the pair and Jamestown. He was honestly surprised that the Heartless weren't being used as a weapon. They were just simply there, shadows moving here and there, attacking only if someone got too close. Judging from what Thomas had said about Ratcliffe, Kaoru was sure that the governor of Jamestown had blamed the attacks on Pocahontas' people rather than explaining what had actually happened. Ratcliffe was selfish, greedy, and would do anything to get what he wanted. Which explained quite a bit about what was going on with John Smith. If the man had been an outspoken enemy of Ratcliffe, and the people followed him, then Ratcliffe would do what he could to get John on his side.

Which meant that, if they wanted to have a fighting chance, they needed to save John and stop the war.

They reached the break in the trees where there was only open ground between them and the defensive wall of Jamestown. Thomas and Kaoru crouched, studying the town. Thomas raised his arm and pointed then, toward the edge of the defensive wall closest to the water. "There's a small bit of the wall that can pull away there. I think John had it made so he could sneak out and visit Pocahontas."

Kaoru nodded. "That's how you got out?"

"Yes."

"Hopefully we can get back in the same way."

Thomas looked nervous, but his jaw was set in a determined clench. "If Ratcliffe hasn't blocked it off."

"I doubt it. He probably has other things to deal with right now." Kaoru started to rise so he could start rushing through the open space and reach the wall before anyone saw, but Thomas grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down. Kaoru gave him an confused look.

"There. Look." Thomas pointed toward the road and the main gate of the town. Kaoru looked, startled to see a group of armed men gathering before the main entrance. With them was a large man on a larger horse, a saber in one hand pointing forward. He was shouting, and the men around him lifted long-barreled guns into the air and roared in agreement. Then, they started marching off, disappearing into the dark forest.

Only the man on the white horse remained behind, watching the group of men go. Then he abruptly turned his horse and rode back into Jamestown.

"That was Ratcliffe." Thomas whispered.

Kaoru frowned as he watched those gates close behind the white horse. "Did you see your friend?"

Thomas shook his head. "I don't understand why he didn't go with those men."

"Maybe because he has a different plan in mind." Kaoru rose again and counted to ten before he ran across the open ground, hitting the wall of the town and pressing close to it. No alarm was raised. A second later, Thomas joined him, looking fearful and panicked.

"A different plan?" Thomas whispered.

Kaoru nodded. "He didn't go with the men. They're either scouts or they're being sent as a distraction."

"I don't understand. He has to know that the Indians are waiting for such a sign."

Kaoru frowned, studying Thomas for a minute. He didn't like the thought that the red-headed man's words elicited in his mind. It meant Rinally was in more danger than they originally thought she would be, and if he didn't get his part done in time, he could lose her. She was a powerful witch, but neither of them had really been in a true combat situation against other human beings. With Heartless they didn't need to hold back because the Heartless weren't actually alive, so to speak. But with people there would always be that minute second of hesitation, and that hesitation that could get someone killed.

"Let's hurry." he whispered at last.

The two slipped along the wall to the hidden door Thomas had described. Thomas slid his fingers along the wood grain and sought out the little hidden latch. He unhooked it and pulled the door open, allowing Kaoru to slip inside first. Kaoru looked around Jamestown, crouched as he was in the alley. The houses were all made of thick logs with wood shingled roofs, and the streets were simply churned dirt. Woodsmoke filled the air as did the smell of the ocean. Thomas crouched beside him after closing the hidden door, then gestured for Kaoru to follow him. They used back alleys to avoid people and hurry across the town to a large house near to the harbor and very nearly in the center of town. Kaoru studied the building, frowning.

"That's the Governor's House." Thomas said softly. "Ratcliffe lives there."

"I don't see his horse." Kaoru observed. He glanced around the open square that was filled with only a few people, mostly women in huge dresses and a few sailors who likely belonged to the huge ship in the harbor, but didn't see or hear the sounds of a horse. Or Ratcliffe, who was certainly a loud man in and of himself. "I don't think he's there."

"He has to be."

"I don't think so. If he sent a scouting party ahead, then he has to be with the main body of his army. So they're either still here in town, or they're somewhere else. Is there any other way out of Jamestown?"

Thomas shook his head. "Just the harbor and the main gate."

 _We only saw a small scouting party leave by the main gate, and there's definitely no way Ratcliffe would be able to get a ship up a river without someone seeing it..._ Kaoru frowned deeply, reaching up to grip his headphones as if the old battered piece would give him an answer of what to do. _What would Sora do right now? You know your best friend is in danger right now, but you have to save someone else's best friend. So what would you do, Sora?_

"Thomas," Kaoru said, turning to face him, "the first thing we need to do is find John. If we can save him, then maybe he can tell us where Ratcliffe has gone. If there's no other way out of town, then he's already got his main attack force set up somewhere, and he came back here to get something."

"Do you think he might have come to get John?"

"I don't know. Maybe." _Which will make my job all the harder._ Kaoru started to rise. "We might as well start looking. Since we're at the Governor's House, we can check and see if John's there."

"And if he's not?"

Kaoru let out a long sigh. "If he's not, then we search the town and hope we get lucky."

Thomas caught Kaoru's shoulder before he could move out into the square and dart across to the large manor. "We can split up here."

Kaoru looked at him confused. "What?"

Thomas' voice shook a little bit but he had a brave expression on. "We can split up. I'll search the town. You can search the house. If John's in the house, then you can do whatever it is you need to do. If I find him, I can come back and get you."

Kaoru thought the idea was foolish, especially since the last time Thomas had gone looking for John on his own he'd gotten hurt, but they didn't exactly have the luxury of time. So the younger boy nodded, agreeing. "Just don't let anyone see you. For all we know, Ratcliffe thinks you're dead in the woods."

Thomas smiled, though it was weak. "Don't worry about me. I may not be good at a lot of things, but I know when to keep my head down." He squeezed Kaoru's shoulder, then hurried back down the alley, turning a corner and disappearing from sight.

Kaoru sucked in a deep, lung-expanding breath and released it slowly. He had a bad feeling about all of this, but he couldn't exactly just run off on a feeling. He needed to trust Rin to protect Pocahontas and her people, just as Rin needed to trust that he would be able to save John Smith and the settlers. He glanced around the square again, watching how people were turning toward one side of the square. Something was coming, far enough away to catch their attention but still somewhat out of sight. Since their backs were turned now to him, Kaoru used the opportunity to dart across the square to the Governor's House. He slipped around the back and then peered around the corner.

Ratcliffe, astride his white horse, led a parade of men holding guns toward the square. There were more men behind him than there had been in the scouting party, but Kaoru couldn't tell if any of the men were John Smith. None seemed to be following Ratcliffe against his will, and none seemed to have a blank expression on his face, which Kaoru would expect if he was being controlled by something. Ratcliffe circled his horse around the square, coming to a halt with his back to the Governor's House. The men formed ranks before him, and the onlookers drew closer to hear what the man was going to say. Kaoru used the opportunity to find a way into the house. He didn't have much time.

 _So Ratcliffe didn't leave through a secret door. He didn't have his main army sitting in the woods, waiting somewhere. They were here in Jamestown the entire time. Which means Rin's still safe for now, and it means John's still here, too._

He hoped John was in the Governor's House, otherwise he was breaking in for nothing. He summoned Guardian and pressed the edge of it gently against the doorknob on the back door. There was a soft click as his Keyblade unlocked the mechanism, and the door swung open silently. Kaoru dismissed Guardian and eased into the house, gently closing the door behind him.

The house was quiet, but he could hear the muffled voice of Ratcliffe stirring his army against Pocahontas' people. There were answering roars to whatever he was saying. It was enough to make Kaoru shiver. He couldn't imagine such hate finding a home in people's hearts, such blind anger that could drive someone to do something irrevocably damaging, not just to strangers but to one's own life as well. Kaoru forced himself to start moving, knowing he was wasting precious seconds by crouching around listening to what Ratcliffe was demagoguing about. The first floor was empty, filled with a sitting room, a dining room, a kitchen, a pantry, a front foyer, and a staircase. Kaoru also found a door that led down into a dark cellar, and decided to go down rather than to search upstairs first.

He summoned Guardian before he headed down the stairs into the cellar. He crept down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was a short stair case, but still one he couldn't jump down and land safely. His eyes adjusted to the murky darkness quickly enough, and he started searching for something, anything, out of the ordinary.

"Who's there?"

Kaoru froze at the sound of the hoarse voice whispering out of the darkness. Chains rattled and a form materialized out of the shadows. A tall blonde man stared down a Kaoru with a confused, exhausted look on his face. His blue eyes looked sunken in, with dark circles beneath them. There were bruises on his face, some old and almost healed, some fresh. His lower lip had been split and blood had dried on his chin. Chains were wrapped around his wrists, chafing his skin until it was red and raw, though he had enough length to stand and move around. His clothes were dirty and torn.

The man looked surprised at seeing Kaoru, even more surprised at seeing Guardian. "Who are you?"

Kaoru didn't dismiss Guardian, but he straightened and made sure to keep his Keyblade in a non-threatening position. "I'm Kaoru. Are you... are you John Smith?"

The man's blue eyes widened. "How do you know my name?"

"Thomas and Pocahontas asked me to find you. To save you."

John let out a hoarse chuckle that sounded relieved. "Thomas is alive?" He shook his head, tears glimmering in his eyes. "Leave it to those two to find the most unusual way to perform a rescue." He raised his hands. "Get me out of here, then. We have to stop Ratcliffe from attacking the Indians."

"I need to ask you something first." Kaoru said, keeping his voice steady. "Did Ratcliffe ever give you a black rod, maybe only a few inches long? Did he try to use it on you?"

John's eyes darkened. He lifted his left arm, and displayed a ragged slice in his bicep that looked in terrible need of healing. "I didn't know what was happening at first. I could see and hear everything that was going on, but I couldn't think. I couldn't do anything. It was like my body belonged to someone else. Ratcliffe used me to stir up the men, blaming wild animal attacks on Pocahontas' people. But when he ordered me to kill Thomas, I..." John stopped and swallowed hard. "I couldn't. Ratcliffe chained me up down here after that, and ripped that damned rod out of me. Said I was going to die anyway, so it didn't matter how."

"I can't heal you." Kaoru said quietly. "But I have a friend who can. If I get you out of here, do you think you can make it to Pocahontas' village?"

Despite the shadows and sunken look to them, his eyes burned with fire. "Even if it kills me, I'll stop Ratcliffe. I won't let Pocahontas get hurt because of something I did, even if I didn't have much of a choice in it."

Kaoru nodded and raised Guardian. "Thomas is here in town, too, looking for you. We'll have to find him before we leave."

John's face became stony, but he raised his arms and presented the manacles to Kaoru. Kaoru took a deep breath and willed Guardian to unlock the chains from around John's wrists. They popped open with a little noise, then clattered heavily to the ground. John rubbed his wrists, looking at Guardian appreciatively. Kaoru dismissed his Keyblade, giving the man an unsure but game smile. Then he turned to head up the stairs and lead John out of the cellar.

As he set one foot upon the stairs, he realized that it had been too easy. It had been too easy to find John, too easy to free him. In his recent experience with Gaston, it had taken almost all of his strength to get that black rod out of Gaston, and yet Ratcliffe had been able to simply cut it out. That didn't make any sense. It also didn't make any sense that Ratcliffe would go through all the trouble to turn John to his side and because of one instant of defiance, gave up on his original plan.

His muscles tensed without Kaoru knowing why, and he threw himself up the stairs, clambering into the room beyond just as a club made of a piece of timber slammed into the place where he had been seconds before. John Smith drew the club back and grinned widely at Kaoru, the black bruises under his eyes resolving themselves into a thick smear that began to take over his entire face. Kaoru scrambled to his feet and backed away from the monster that John was becoming, jumping when John landed in the room with him and let out a roar that sounded bestial. Outside, Kaoru could hear the voices of people, asking what was going on.

Then the front door to the Governor's House slammed open, and Ratcliffe filled the doorway. From where he stood, he had a good view of John and Kaoru, and a wide grin split Ratcliffe's face. He stepped into the house and shut the door behind him with obscene gentleness.


	21. Chapter 21

Twenty - Tsenacommacah/Jamestown

"Well, well. Looks like they were right. A little Keyblade rat." Ratcliffe said. "I see you've met my pet. That's good. I had to reeducate him after his first debacle, so don't expect him to stop and let you go. John, make sure this one dies this time. Don't let him escape. I don't need any more interruptions."

"You won't win!" Kaoru shouted. "You won't win, Ratcliffe. You have no idea what you're doing."

Ratcliffe grinned widely. "Oh, I know exactly what I'm doing. The powers of darkness are far stronger than the powers of the light. Darkness consumes light. I've seen that first hand with Johnny-boy over there. Such a good man, so filled with light, and now look at him. A beast, filled with hate and darkness."

"That's not what he is. He's a kind, gentle man, who cares deeply for his friends." Kaoru said, unsure if he was talking to John or Ratcliffe. "He fought back the darkness once to save Thomas. He can do it again."

Something clicked behind Kaoru. This time he took his eyes off John and turned to face Ratcliffe. The man held a huge pistol in a meaty fist, raised and aimed at Kaoru's chest. Ratcliffe's victorious smile became a grimace of anger. "I suppose you're right, Keyblade brat. I shouldn't take any chances." He pulled the trigger.

Kaoru summoned Guardian at the same time fire and thunder erupted from the pistol's barrel. Almost at the same time, John rushed forward, roaring. A prismatic glimmer surrounded Kaoru, his armor extending out from the pauldron on his shoulder to cover his bicep and then his wrist and hand, and Guardian itself seemed to glow with light. John let out a roar and threw his arms over his face to shield his eyes, as did Ratcliffe. The bullet struck a shimmering golden wall two feet away from Kaoru, mushrooming before falling to the floor. Kaoru stared at the golden wall for a minute, stunned. Then as the light faded, Kaoru ducked out of the room, past Ratcliffe, and into the sitting room. He raised his arms to shield his face and dove through the window there, tumbling out into the street.

The crowd there stared at him, shock and surprise written all over their faces. Kaoru rolled to his feet and fell into stance, gripping Guardian in both hands. A second later, Ratcliffe slammed out of the house, pointing at Kaoru and roaring, "Kill him! He's with the Indians, sent here to kill us before we can take revenge for our fallen brothers and sisters! Kill him!"

There was a moment's hesitation before the men with guns raised them and pointed them at Kaoru. The young Keyblade user knew even if he tried to run, he wouldn't escape being shot. So he stood his ground, tightening his grip around Guardian. The air around him shimmered again with golden light, barely discernible, like a heat mirage. But before the men could fire, there came a deep, angry, tormented, bellowing roar from within the Governor's House.

John Smith's transformation had progressed. He was no longer recognizable as John Smith. The black on his face had oozed down his neck and beneath his torn clothes. The wound in his arm - self-inflicted, Kaoru realized now - pulsed with an evil purple/black light as the flesh began to knit itself back together. The darkness had even swarmed up into his hair, turning the blonde strands black and slicking them back and down. His blue eyes glowed gold, and were narrowed to pinched points. Seeing him, the people in the square let out strangled yells and screams and tried to flee. The men with the guns turned toward the monster and fired. The bullets only made John angry.

He roared and launched himself toward the riflemen, claws extending from fingernails for a killing blow. The men yelled and scattered, but one or two were unlucky and were slammed to the ground by those sharp nails. On the stoop, Ratcliffe's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock, as if he hadn't realized just what kind of monster he was creating. Kaoru watched as Ratcliffe ran for his horse and kicked the animal into a gallop, escaping out of Jamestown. He knew where the man was going, but he had no way of warning Rin. He also had no way of catching up, and he couldn't very well leave the people of Jamestown to deal with the transformed John Smith. So he turned and launched himself toward John, Guardian drawn back for a powerful two-handed swing.

The Keyblade hit the monster square in the side, flinging him away from a downed rifleman. The monster hit the ground and skidded halfway across the square. Kaoru stepped over the man and snapped, "Get out of here! Get everyone out of here! He'll kill you if you don't!"

The rifleman hauled himself to his feet and ran screaming. Soon, it was just Kaoru and the monstrous John Smith. The transformation was continuing to take over John's body, bulking up his shoulders and thighs to turn him into something nightmarish. He hauled himself to his feet, bellowed, and launched himself at Kaoru. Kaoru brought his Keyblade up to block the strike, skidding backwards under the monster's considerable weight. Kaoru twisted, throwing Guardian to the side and spinning around to land a hard hit to John's back. The move enraged the monster even more, and even though it hit the ground from the attack, it was up again to attack Kaoru.

How long they traded blows back and forth he didn't know, but Kaoru felt as though the fight was taking far too long. It wasn't that he was growing tired or weaker, but the monster John Smith had become seemed to be getting stronger. Kaoru jumped backwards and fell into a dodge roll as John pounced on him and pounded the ground where Kaoru had just been into dust. Kaoru came back to his feet and flung Guardian toward John. The Keyblade hit the monster in the face, driving it back further, then came back to Kaoru's hand.

"This isn't you!" Kaoru shouted, holding his ground as the monster gained its feet. "Don't let the darkness win! You did everything you could to protect your friends, and they're alive today because of you! Fight, John! Fight the darkness inside you, and then we can go save Pocahontas!"

The monster hesitated, muscles bulging as it strained one way or another. Its claws flexed, and its maw opened to reveal blackened, sharp teeth. He was barely unrecognizable as John Smith. Then he let out a roar and charged Kaoru. Kaoru brought Guardian up to block and the golden glimmer surrounded him again. John hit the barrier and Kaoru was flung through the air, bouncing once before the shield broke and he hit the ground, coughing as the air was forced out of his lungs. The monster roared again and jumped into the air, diving straight down for Kaoru and what would be a killing blow. Kaoru rolled to the side and launched himself back to his feet, whirling to block a strike to his back. He spun in the opposite direction and flew into a flurry of attacks, Guardian flashing. Bright light shone from the Keyblade as it howled in to strike John on his arms, chest, thighs, and shoulders. It was enough to drive back bits of the darkness, but it would just flow back into place. Kaoru could fight back the darkness on the surface, but he realized that it would be up to John to fight the darkness inside him.

And they were running out of time.

Kaoru danced with the monster, trading blows and blocking attacks, and doing whatever he could to ensure the monster tired before he did. His armor deflected the worst of the attacks if he was able to present his right side, and the golden shimmer granted him even more protection if he was able to concentrate enough that even he could see it clearly.

"John!"

Both Kaoru and the monster froze. Kaoru saw Thomas standing a stone's throw away from them, his arms at his side, his face set in a determined mask.

"Fight, John! This isn't you!" Thomas shouted. "Kaoru's here to help us! He's here to help us stop Ratcliffe from hurting everyone! Right now, his friend is with Pocahontas, trying to save her people. Ratcliffe's ridden out with a bunch of men to kill her and everyone with her! Do you really want to be the cause of that? Do you really want him to win? Fight, John! Fight the darkness! You're not evil!"

The monster roared and shoved itself away from Kaoru, charging toward Thomas. Kaoru shouted and threw Guardian hard. The Keyblade rotated twice before the long part of the blade crashed into the back of John's head. It flung him forward to the ground, where he skidded on his chin and shoulders right up to Thomas' feet. Instead of running away, Thomas crouched down and touched his fingers to John's face. As the young man smiled, Kaoru saw Thomas beginning to glow with a bright white light. The light warred with the darkness consuming John, making the monster he'd become thrash and struggle.

"You saved me," Thomas said quietly. "You saved me from being killed by him. You stopped yourself. You've always been outspoken against Ratcliffe, because what he's been doing is evil. We've all seen it. You're the only one who had the courage to stand up against him."

The monster that was John Smith groaned. "Thomas..."

"Fight, John. I know you can. Remember when you saved me from drowning? You sacrificed yourself to save me, someone you barely knew. You've always looked out for me. Pocahontas isn't so bad, either."

As Thomas continued to talk and distract John, Kaoru quietly approached them. He swept Guardian up and around in a half circle this time, different that he'd done before. He gripped the hilt with both hands, then released the hilt with his right and gathered the light to it. Then he flung Guardian skyward and said, "Cascade."

Just like before, when the Keyblade reached its apex, it burst into a prismatic rain. The droplets hit the ground, bouncing up and then back down, turning into a puddle of light before disappearing. When the prismatic rain touched the darkness on John Smith, it began to smoke and bubble up like some sort of odd infection. John howled and writhed, but the darkness continued to recede, leaving his skin and hair and face. Thomas continued to whisper to John throughout it all, coaxing the good man he knew to come back from the monster he had become. Kaoru watched as the wound in John's upper arm began to pulse and writhe, and he watched as the black rod inched its way out of his skin, much like a worm trying to wriggle its way out of the wet earth. Kaoru approached quickly but kept his steps as quiet as possible, and reached for that rod with his gauntleted hand.

When he gripped it, he gasped as his hand began to burn. It was a cold burn, rather than a hot one, and though his armor was protecting his skin from actual damage, he could still feel the darkness trying to eat away at the light contained within his armor. It was all Kaoru could do to not let go, and instead pull on the rod to get it fully out of John Smith. Cascade ended at the same time Kaoru wrenched the black rod from John's arm, and as he did so, the last vestiges of darkness dissipated from John's skin. The man collapsed at Thomas' feet, panting harshly. Thomas set his hands on his friend's shoulders and leaned down close to his ear, asking softly if he was okay.

Kaoru stared at the rod in his hand, watching the shifting colors of deep violet and royal blue that swirled in the deep black of the creation. That in itself was new. The rods they'd collected in Belle's world and the one they'd seen in Traverse Town hadn't glowed like this one did. Not even the one he'd wrenched out of Gaston had glowed like this one.

Kaoru yelped as the rod in his palm suddenly jumped and snapped like a firecracker, and shattered into deep violet and black motes. The armor covering his palm was sooty black, the only remains of the rod that had changed John into an entity of darkness. He flexed his fingers, watching the shadow stuff flake off to the ground, dissipating just before it touched the dirt. He glanced toward Thomas and John, then dismissed his Keyblade and armor before he approached them. He crouched down beside John and set his hand on the man's wounded shoulder, inspecting the flesh that had now become a puckered scar. John flinched at his touch, then looked at Kaoru with a shocked expression.

"You..." he whispered. "I remember you."

Kaoru met John's eyes and smiled. "I'm glad you're back to your normal self. Do you remember anything I said?"

John shook his head slowly, then refocused his gaze on Thomas. "I remember you, though. Speaking to me. Talking to me through that haze of hate and violence that was consuming me." He looked back at Kaoru. "But I don't remember you."

Kaoru shrugged. "That's okay. The point is, you're back to your usual self. We don't have much time to stay here and talk, though. Do you feel well enough to move? We have to go stop Ratcliffe."

"That's right!" Thomas said. "Ratcliffe followed a bunch of his men out of Jamestown and they're set to attack Pocahontas. We have to stop them."

John grimaced as he got to his feet, his arm around Thomas' shoulder as the young man struggled to support him. "It'll take hours for us to get there." he said between clenched teeth. "We won't make it in time."

Thomas looked at Kaoru with a helpless expression. Kaoru didn't know what to do. It had taken him and Thomas almost two hours to cut through the forest after Pocahontas had dropped them off on the bank of the river, and they were healthy and able-bodied, if only a little exhausted. John, however, had been tortured before all of this, had become a monster, and then had suffered through battle against Kaoru and battle against the darkness that had consumed him. If they moved now, it would take them twice the time it took Kaoru and Thomas to get to Jamestown to get back to the riverbank, and then follow it to where Pocahontas said her village would be.

Then an idea struck Kaoru. He looked at John and asked, "Where are the stables?"


	22. Chapter 22

Twenty-One - Tsenacommacah/Jamestown

Rinally watched as the forest began to shake.

For a moment, she thought a giant Heartless was coming through the woods, ready to break out of the trees and bowl over all of the warriors. She was prepared to fight, to do her best to keep the two sides from clashing until Kaoru came from Jamestown with the one person who could stop the settlers from making the biggest mistake of their lives.

The Indian braves stood restlessly behind the trees providing their cover, arrows nocked to bowstrings and held at the ready. Their eyes, like Rin's, were on the other side of the forest, across the wide open field between. The world had been quiet for some time. The birds and animals had all fled, and it seemed as though the wind itself had decided to hold its breath until something explosive happened. And it looked as if something explosive was finally about to take place. The trees shook here and there as something moved among them, and she caught flashes of dark shadows coming closer. She clutched her staff and waited for the Heartless to burst out of the trees and swarm over the waiting men in a tidal wave of chittering darkness.

What came out was worse.

Men bearing guns and other weapons - pitchforks, machetes, swords, clubs - filed out of the trees, their expressions set in a decidedly angry tone. They formed ranks, perhaps two or three men deep, and stood just outside the cover of the trees. Rinally sucked in a deep breath as she saw a white horse emerge from the trees, stopping just behind the ranks of men. Upon the steed's back was a large man dressed in a dark purple outfit and a ridiculously feathered hat. His meaty hands gripped his horse's reins and the hilt of a saber, which he was waving around as he shouted at his men. Those carrying rifles raised them up and began to arm them. Those carrying other weapons shifted their weight and let out a roar that would terrify anyone who wasn't determined to stand and fight for what was theirs.

Rin closed her eyes and fought not to scream. _Kaoru! Kaoru, where are you!? This isn't like facing the Heartless; these are real human lives! The people who die here are gone for good!_

The braves hidden among the trees below let out an answering bellow. Rinally opened her eyes and pushed her fear away. Kaoru was trusting her to protect these people. No, not just Kaoru, but Pocahontas and Nakoma as well. She couldn't let any of them down. She stood abruptly and raised her staff toward the sky, taking a deep breath. She had to stop the attack before it started.

The Thundaga spell Rinally began to shape didn't draw on her own energy. It drew on the energy of the world around her, on the heat in the air and the fury of the storm that was beginning to build in the sky. It would be powerful and earth-rending, and in the words of her sorcery teacher, very, very, _very_ showy. She wanted it to be showy. She wanted it to be scary. She wanted it to make each side think twice before they decided to bolt off and attack one another. She wanted it to be loud and bright, as if it was being summoned to the earth not by a human, but by a god.

The men yelled wordless cries of battle at one another, and began to charge one another. The land between them shrunk with each stride they took, narrowing Rinally's window of opportunity quickly. Rinally grasped her staff in both hands, raised it higher. Her voice was drowned out by the thunderous boom of a giant bolt of lightning cracking through the air from the sky to her staff to the ground between the citizens of Jamestown and the braves. The heat seared the air and the bolt itself tore through the earth, flinging up clods of dirt and grass as it plowed through the open space between the two opposing forces. Rin didn't stop with just the Thundaga spell; she called upon her power and unleashed an Aeroga spell, too, driving the clods of dirt into a tornado of debris that spat out at high speed at both sides, pelting them hard enough to leave bruises. She swung her staff left and right, sending two more, albeit less powerful, Aero spells toward both sides, knocking the men who were still on their feet to the ground.

"And stay down!" Rin shouted, even though they wouldn't be able to hear her.

Both the villagers and the braves looked to be frozen, their faces stuck in expressions of pure fear and awe. Many of them had pushed themselves to their knees and either had their hands clasped together in prayer fashion or had their hands raised to the sky, begging or praising or questioning. The only one still moving on the field was the man on the white horse.

From the distance Rin was from him, she couldn't hear what he was saying, only that his voice was very loud and authoritative, and it was filled with hate. When one of his own men began to question him, the saber swung. It was only through sheer luck that the man didn't have his head taken off by the flashing blade, but he still earned a deep slice along one side of his face that began to bleed profusely. Then the man on the horse raised his saber, pointing it toward the braves that were beginning to regain their feet and bellowed something that seemed to Rin was an order. Some of the men refused, pointing at the land destroyed by Rin's spells. The man on the horse spat at them, his face turning a mottled shade of red, and he stabbed his fingers at them, yelling loudly. Then he grabbed a gun from a man close to him and kicked his horse into a gallop.

The braves let out their war cries and raised their bows, drawing back on their bowstrings. Rin raised her staff again and this time used the weaker Thundara spell, once again churning up the earth before the horse. The animal shrieked and reared, throwing its rider. The man lost his grip on the gun when he hit the ground, making a noise of pain. The horse bolted clear across the field, refusing to be stopped. The braves, too, retreated from Rin's spell, stopped only by an older man dressed in the raiment of a chieftain. The man in purple struggled to his feet and frantically grabbed for the gun, only to snatch his hand back as Rin's Blizzard spell formed a spiky chunk of ice over the weapon, keeping it from being grabbed. As if realizing his most potent weapon had been stolen from him and he was alone facing an army of armed men, the man in purple sprang to his feet and brought his saber forward, making threatening gestures with it.

"Ratcliffe!"

The voice boomed over the battlefield, making everyone stop and turn to look. Rin let out a wild cry of pure joy and rushed down off the hill, crashing through the trees and brush until she emerged out onto the battlefield.

Ahead of her on the opposite side of the field, two horses charged toward the man in purple. On the back of one was Kaoru. He sat on the back of the horse almost awkwardly, as if he wasn't quite sure how to sit in the saddle. Yet he remained on the animal's back, gripping tightly to the reins. The other horse had two men on its back - Thomas and the man Rin believed was John Smith - who rode with a little more expertise than Kaoru, even though they were riding double.

Ratcliffe, the man in purple, produced from somewhere inside his doublet a silver-barreled pistol. He aimed it at John and Thomas and bared his teeth in the most cruel expression Rin had ever seen someone make.

Before he had a chance to fire it, there was a deep male shout and a female one, and a stone flew out of nowhere to strike Ratcliffe's hand with unerring accuracy. He cursed and dropped the gun to clutch his wounded hand, turning to glare at his attacker. Out of the corner of her eye, Rin saw Kocoum struggling with Pocahontas, who held a slingshot. Nakoma stood behind them, clutching her hands and staring at both of them with a worried expression. Then the man dressed as the chieftain approached the struggling pair, making Pocahontas freeze.

The next events happened so quickly, Rin wasn't sure what exactly took place, only that she needed to abruptly change direction and race as fast as she could toward Pocahontas.

Even as John and Kaoru approached on their racing horses, Ratcliffe bent down and scooped up the pistol. Instead of taking aim at John again, Ratcliffe turned the gun toward Pocahontas. Nakoma saw the move and gave a cry of warning, but it was a little too late.

Just as Ratcliffe's finger squeezed the trigger, Kaoru's Guardian Keyblade slammed into Ratcliffe's arm, changing the aim of the bullet just enough. The gun barked with thunder and Rin saw the chieftain's eyes go wide before his face screwed up in intense pain and a blossom of blood spurted from his chest area.

"Father!" Pocahontas screamed, shaking off Kocoum's restraining hold. She ran to her father and scooped him up into her arms, clutching tight to him. Her hand pressed to the wound, blood staining her fingers red. Rinally slid to her knees as she reached Pocahontas, reaching over the woman's blood-smeared hand to press her own against the wound.

"I've got him." Rin said to Pocahontas, whose eyes began to fill with tears. "I've got him." Her hand began to glow with green light as her Curaga spell began to take effect.

Suddenly, Kocoum let out a fierce war cry and lifted his hatchet toward the sky before charging Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe fumbled with his pistol for a second, then lifted it up again. The pistol barked. Nakoma screamed. Pocahontas and Rinally looked up from Pocahontas' father in time to see Kocoum's steps falter. Ratcliffe grinned with victory and fired the pistol again. Kocoum's legs crumpled beneath him and he collapsed to the ground, which greedily soaked up his blood. He didn't move. Rinally couldn't even see his chest rising and falling with breath.

Nakoma screamed again in deep denial and ran forward, only to be caught by Thomas. They had at last reached the battlefield and had dismounted, rushing to try and help, but had arrived scant seconds too late. John raced toward Ratcliffe, but before the man could lift the pistol to fire upon John, Kaoru flung Guardian with more ferocity than Rin had ever seen him throw the Keyblade. The weapon crashed into Ratcliffe with enough force to knock the man's arm wide, if not break bone, and then John was upon him, yanking the pistol away and punching Ratcliffe square in his mouth. Then he turned the weapon on Ratcliffe and, without taking his eyes off the man, asked, "Kaoru?"

Rin focused her eyes on the wound she was healing, as if doing so would make the impact of Kaoru's words hurt less. But it didn't.

"He's gone."

Nakoma let out a shrill cry and crumpled to the ground, tears streaming from her face. Thomas clutched her to him, holding her tightly as he cried himself. The men around them, Indian braves and townsfolk alike, lowered their weapons and stared at the body of Kocoum, at John Smith, at Thomas and Nakoma, at Kaoru and Rinally, and at each other. No one seemed willing to raise a weapon anymore. No one seemed willing to make a move beyond dropping their rifle or hatchet or bow and arrow.

Rin looked up at Kaoru. He stood beside Kocoum's body, Guardian held tightly in his hand. His armor was moving with prismatic light, fully encasing his right arm and his chest. His blue eyes seemed too bright as they focused on Ratcliffe, and whatever was on Kaoru's face seemed to scare the purple-clad monster, because Ratcliffe's eyes went wide and his face became pale beneath all that sweat.

"Kaoru," Rin started, almost afraid of what her friend was considering in that moment.

"Just keep healing." Kaoru whispered, just loud enough to be heard but with enough of a whipcrack to betray his anger and tell her to stay out of the way.

He started forward, adjusting his grip on Guardian. Ratcliffe scrambled backwards like a crab, trying to get away from Kaoru. His armor was starting to give off a slight diffusion of light that made him seem to almost glow. Kaoru stepped past John, who lowered the pistol and took two quick steps back away from the Keyblade user. Ratcliffe scrambled to his feet and grabbed his saber from where it lay on the ground, then whirled to face Kaoru, trembling.

"You called me a Keyblade rat, back there." Kaoru said. "Which means you know what I can do. They told you, didn't they?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ratcliffe snapped, his saber wavering. He looked to his left and right, looking for help, but the men just stood there, watching.

Kaoru lifted Guardian. "Don't lie."

Ratcliffe paled and the saber shook harder. "You aren't supposed to be here! You weren't supposed to show up at all! They told me this was a closed world! Not even Sora - whoever he is - had been here before!"

"So they let you have those black rods. They told you how to use them. You used one on John Smith and turned him into a monster. You used him to stir up the men from Jamestown, who have only ever known peace and friendship from Pocahontas and her people, and for what? For the gold that doesn't exist?" Kaoru snapped. He used Guardian to point behind him. "You killed him for what?! That precious person was destroyed by your greed!"

Ratcliffe's eyes bulged and he bared his teeth. "You know nothing, boy! The world isn't turned by good feelings and love! The world is run by the strong! By those who don't hesitate to get what they want! Those savages have enough gold to make us all kings! To make _me_ a king!"

"We have no gold!" Pocahontas yelled, her voice breaking with sadness. She clutched her father's hand, then left him in Rinally's care as she moved to join Kaoru. She stood by his side, her arms spreading wide to take in every bit of the land behind her. " _This_ is our treasure! This land! These people! Our friends and family! _They_ are everything to us! They _should_ be everything to us, not gold or riches or being king!"

"I _will_ have my gold! Even if I have to kill the lot of you!" Ratcliffe's eyes returned to Kaoru. "And I'll start with you, Keyblade rat! Yes, they told me about your kind, those who interfere in the affairs of others, strangers in a strange land. They told me about the power of the Keyblade, the vaunted weapon of the Light, and they showed me the power of Darkness. I saw it for myself when I made John my unwitting puppet. You can't defeat me! You can never defeat me!"

Ratcliffe threw back his head and laughed maniacally as he lifted his saber toward the sky. Behind him the forest roiled and rumbled with darkness. Kaoru tensed as he saw thousands upon thousands of Shadows tumbling out of the trees, joining together until they were one big blob of darkness. Yellow eyes rolled around in a large head before stilling on a face cowled by darkness. The shape of the body resolved itself into two massively muscled arms and a broad chest that had a gaping heart-shaped hole in it. Its thick legs allowed it to tower over the battlefield. Men yelled in shock and bolted away from the giant Heartless, joining the braves who quickly surrounded their wounded chieftain and Rinally, weapons ready to protect them.

The Darkside's head swept from left to right, then focused on Ratcliffe. Before Kaoru could shout a warning, the Darkside's hand swept down, hurtling across the open space faster than anything Kaoru had faced before. He barely had enough time to dodge backwards and take Pocahontas with him. The wind from the Darkside's fingers snatched at the clothes on Kaoru's back, nearly flinging him into the air. The Darkside's hand closed around Ratcliffe.

The man's laughter was suddenly cut off.

The Darkside's arms bulged suddenly and its head cocked to one side before it began to shudder. The Darkside's body bulged this way and that, as if there were gasses trapped inside it, seeking a way out. It went on like this for minutes until the disturbances in the Darkside's body gradually subsided. The monster's cowl and face began to rearrange itself, resolving into a black likeness of Ratcliffe. He flexed his arms, studying the muscles that bulged with each movement. He turned the monster's body, grabbing onto the trunk of a thick tree and tearing it, roots and all, from the ground. Laughing, he swung it like a club and then focused on Kaoru.

Kaoru gripped Guardian tightly and planted his feet, ready to fight.


	23. Chapter 23

Twenty-Two - Tsenacommacah/Jamestown

"How can we beat that?" John Smith whispered from behind Kaoru and Pocahontas. "It's huge!"

Pocahontas looked at Kaoru and Guardian. "I don't know if there's much _we_ can do, but you can, can't you, Kaoru?"

Kaoru gripped Guardian tighter with both hands. His armor shimmered with prismatic light, an incredible display. But beneath that display and armor, his heart was hammering in his chest. Someone was dead. Someone had been completely taken in by darkness. There were dozens, hundreds, of people watching him. Lives depended on him. _Is this what Sora deals with whenever he goes to a world he's never been to before? Is this what he feels like when he takes on the darkness? When he takes on someone so inherently evil that you don't want to save them?_

"You ought to get these people out of here." Kaoru said at last. He forced his fear down and grasped onto all the courage he could muster. "I need Rin, too."

"I'm here." Rinally stepped up beside Kaoru, grasping her staff tight in both hands. Her fingers were stained red with blood. Tears had made streaks on her face, but she wasn't crying anymore. She looked toward Pocahontas. "Your dad's okay. My magic got the bullet out and I healed up his wounds. He's lost a lot of blood, so he needs to take it easy for a while."

Pocahontas looked back at her father, then at Kaoru and Rin. "Will you be okay?"

"We'll be fine." Kaoru answered. Rin nodded.

The Darkside/Ratcliffe hybrid finally seemed to notice them and let out a bellow. It lifted a massive leg and the ground shook as it lurched forward. Kaoru looked at Rin, then charged forward, Guardian held out and low as he ran forward. Rinally was right behind him. Neither looked back to see if Pocahontas and John were doing as they had told them to do; their fight wasn't behind them, but ahead of them.

Ratcliffe's voice boomed out in a vindictive laugh, as loud as a peal of thunder. His hand came swinging in toward Kaoru and Rinally, but they were ready for him. The witch unleashed the most powerful Firaga spell she had at the hand coming straight for them, then threw herself to the ground as Kaoru swung Guardian over her head, following the fireball with a powerful slash fueled by light. The Keyblade cut through the darkness with ease, creating a gaping wound in the hand. Rin rolled to her feet and swung her staff like it was a weapon on par with Guardian. She unleashed a Blizzara spell into the wound, and the ice coated the dark flesh of the hybrid Heartless, creeping up and up until it reached Ratcliffe's forearm. The beast roared and slapped at the ice with its free hand, shattering it. By that time, Kaoru and Rin were already moving, forcing the monster to turn to chase them and ignore the people Kaoru and Rinally were leaving behind.

Kaoru jumped up onto Ratcliffe's arm as it came in to smash him, launching a flurry of attacks into the darkness-bound flesh of the Darkside/human hybrid. Guardian tore rents in the darkness, flinging motes into the air with each slash of the Keyblade. Kaoru danced away from the monster's counterattack, his shield of light glimmering into existence around him as he fell from the arm, bouncing lightly on the ground. Rin lifted her staff and unleashed a sequence of spells, ranging from lightning to fire to ice to wind. The spells crashed into the Heartless hybrid's chest and drove it further back, and enraged it further. The massive palm of the Darkside/Ratcliffe swung in toward her, tearing up the ground as it came closer and closer. Rinally started running, but even she knew she wouldn't make it far enough away to avoid being hurt.

Rin felt the oppressive weight of the Darkside/Ratcliffe's hand against her back, and then she was flung into the air. She somehow kept a tight hold of her staff even as she soared through open space. The ground rushed up to meet her and she closed her eyes tight, not wanting to watch her death come. Instead, she bounced. Once, twice, three times, she bounced before she came to rest at the tree line. Rinally opened her eyes to see the faint glimmer of a golden, translucent ball surrounding her. A squeaking gasp escaped her when the glimmer shattered into motes of light and she was dropped fully to the ground, landing hard on her rear. She twisted at the waist to see Kaoru drawing back Guardian and throwing it hard toward the Darkside/Ratcliffe's face. The Keyblade rotated end over end until it smashed into the monster's face, driving its head backwards. His armor glowed brightly with prismatic light, and another shimmering orb of golden light surrounded him as he was hit with a giant orb of pulsing darkness. He was sent flying backwards, hitting the ground hard and bouncing because of the orb-like shield. He came to rest with Guardian dug deep into the earth, his head bowed and his chest heaving for breath.

Rin ground her teeth and shoved herself to her feet even though her body protested it, and she raced toward Kaoru as fast as she could, drawing on her mana to cast a Cure spell upon him. They were both incredibly tired; Rinally herself was nearly out of mana, and they hadn't been to a world where they could stock up on items. She could only imagine how Kaoru was faring. She reached Kaoru just as the Darkside/Ratcliffe monster lifted his hand toward the sky with the intention of squashing them. She gripped his shoulder, kneeling beside him. He looked up at her through the blonde of his bangs, panting harshly. Rin saw that her minor healing spell had sealed up a slice he'd gotten on his cheek, but his skin was still crimson with freshly-spilled blood. Then they both looked up toward the massive hand that was overshadowing them.

"It's not fair." Rin whispered with a slight laugh to her voice.

"What isn't?" Kaoru asked, hauling himself to his feet and yanking Guardian out of the earth to hold it ready.

"That we're so stupidly tired and he's barely winded."

Kaoru laughed softly. "Don't worry. We'll beat him. You got enough for another spell?"

The hand was coming in closer, and even though it was moving at terminal velocity, it seemed like it was gently floating down toward them. They were fully covered by its shadow now, a massive one that took up most of the field around them.

Rin nodded. "What do you want?"

"Lightning. Lots of it."

"I think I can manage. But it's gonna be the last spell I can do."

"That's fine. I've only got one more in me, myself."

They split, running as fast as they could - Kaoru to the left and Rin to the right - for the edges of the Darkside/Ratcliffe's hand. At the last second, they dive-rolled out of the impact zone, avoiding being squashed by the narrowest of margins. They came back to their feet and jumped upon the back of the Heartless's hand, racing together up the massive arm. As he went, Kaoru slashed at the Darkside/Ratcliffe's arm with Guardian, tearing rents in the dark flesh and sending motes into the air that dissipated quickly. He dodged the orbs of darkness that were shot at him, the golden shimmering light of Holy Shield managing to stave off any direct attacks upon him and Rinally. Soon, they ran out of room to run up the monster's arm, and Kaoru leaped into the air to commit to his final attack. He knew that if this attack didn't put the Darkside/Ratcliffe down, then he was dead. Rin was dead. Pocahontas, Thomas, John, Nakoma, and everyone else in this world was dead. The world itself was dead.

He drew his arm back as far as he could, twisting at the waist to put as much power into the throw as he was able. With a shout, Kaoru threw Guardian toward the Darkside/Ratcliffe hybrid's face. The Keyblade began to glow, shimmering with the same prismatic light his armor was imbued with. Cascade exploded from Guardian before Rinally's Thundaga spell hit the weapon, making the motes of Cascade explode into electrically charged bolts of light that speared down into the Darkside/Ratcliffe's shoulders, chest, and head. Adding to that, the length of Guardian slammed into the Heartless's cowled face, creating a thunder-crack of noise. The Darkside/Ratcliffe hybrid let out a scream of enraged pain, but between the force of the Keyblade striking him and the combined attack of Rinally and Kaoru, he couldn't recover fast enough to regain his balance.

The Heartless tipped backwards.

Guardian came back to Kaoru's hand as the boy fell towards the ground. With what little power he had left, Kaoru wrapped himself and Rin with a Holy Shield, softening their landing. The shimmering orb that surrounded them shattered only seconds after they touched the ground. Then they were nearly knocked off their feet as the Darkside/Ratcliffe hybrid Heartless hit the ground with enough force to rival an earthquake. It was only by some miracle that they managed to keep their balance and keep from falling to the ground as the shockwave rushed under and past them. When it was over, Kaoru gripped Guardian and raised the Keyblade toward the sky. He really wasn't sure what he was going to do; this was a full-body possession by a Heartless, not a transformation caused by one of the black rods. He didn't know how to handle this.

It turned out that he didn't need to worry so much.

As soon as Kaoru's arm was fully extended, the tip of Guardian's blade began to glow brighter and brighter with piercing light. It started off as a small orb the size of a baseball, then expanded until it was more of a watermelon shape that gave off a diffused cloud of light around a more solid glow. Kaoru brought Guardian down slowly and gently, aiming that watermelon-shaped orb of light toward the giant Heartless lying stunned before him. As the light moved through the air, it began to expand in size, diffusing more and more so it looked more like a cloud than anything more solid. The Darkside/Ratcliffe hybrid saw it coming and struggled to get to its feet or pull itself away from the bright cloud, but it was no use. As soon as the cloud touched the monster, the light began to adhere to the darkness, climbing slowly up the Heartless's body until it was completely engulfed.

The massive Heartless writhed and squirmed as the darkness it was made of began to peel off inch by inch. It only took a handful of minutes for the Darkside Heartless to be completely removed from Ratcliffe, leaving the man lying flat on his back on the ground. Above him, a massive orb of mixed darkness and light pulsed and swirled for a minute before it exploded, sending a giant multicolored heart up into the sky before it disappeared.

"Is he alive?" Rin asked softly from near Kaoru's shoulder.

Kaoru glanced at her, then toward Ratcliffe. The man's chest was rising and falling, but other than that, he wasn't moving. "He's breathing." he replied. "But I don't think he's awake."

Together, Kaoru and Rinally crossed the space between them and Ratcliffe, coming to stand over the man. He looked pale and his eyes had deep, dark circles under them. He was breathing through his mouth, which made him look like a fish out of water. His eyes rolled beneath the lids rapidly, but he didn't look like he was going to wake up. Kaoru looked up as John Smith and Pocahontas approached them, stepping tentatively as if they weren't sure what they were approaching. Judging by their expressions, Kaoru was fairly certain that they hadn't quite come to terms with what they had just witnessed.

John nudged Ratcliffe with the toe of his boot. "You didn't kill him?"

Kaoru shook his head. "Keyblades don't work that way. The only thing they destroy is the Heartless. They can't kill anyone."

Pocahontas glanced behind her toward Nakoma, who was still being held tight by Thomas. The warriors of the tribe had gathered Kocoum's body and were regally bearing it away. The Jamestown men watched with their hats held over their hearts and with solemn expressions. "I wish that were true for all things." she whispered.

John's expression softened and he reached to grip her shoulder. She looked up at him and gave a slight nod. John returned his attention to Kaoru and Rinally. "You two are..." he stopped, as if he couldn't think of what to say. After a minute, he tried again. "You two are definitely special. Those powers... I've never seen the like. I doubt I will again. Would that I could have you here all the time..."

Kaoru smiled, but it was short-lived. "You don't need us here all the time. All you have to do to keep the darkness at bay is keep hope in your hearts. Be kind to one another. Help each other. You might look different on the outside, but on the inside, we're all the same." He pointed at Ratcliffe with Guardian. "And keep people like him from trying to fill your hearts with hate and greed."

"Don't worry." John said, his voice hard. "I'm going to make sure Ratcliffe can't cause any more trouble."

Pocahontas agreed. "I know that what's happened has opened many eyes, and hopefully, many hearts. I'll do my part to heal what has been hurt. I may not have your powers, Rinally, but even so, I don't think I'll need magic to heal these wounds."

Rinally smiled. "Magic is only a short-cut, anyway."

Pocahontas opened her mouth as if to say something, then stopped as the wind began to blow. She raised her head and turned into the gust, closing her eyes. When she opened her eyes, John looked at her questioningly. She simply set a hand on his arm and smiled before she turned to Kaoru and Rin. She stepped forward and embraced them both, hugging them tight.

"I won't forget what you both have done for us." Pocahontas said softly. "I'll make sure no one else does, either. Be safe, wherever your journey takes you."

Kaoru and Rinally returned her hug, then, when she released them, stepped back. Kaoru looked at John and offered his hand. "I guess this is good-bye, then."

John smiled ruefully and accepted Kaoru's hand in a tight grip. "I guess so. Like she said, be safe out there. I don't know much about the deal Ratcliffe made, but those strangers in black cloaks are dangerous. Whatever they're after, it isn't just about control."

"I'll keep that in mind." Kaoru replied. He started toward the tree line, pausing to wait for Rin. When she caught up to him, they turned back to wave at John and Pocahontas, then entered the shadows of the trees.

They stopped just before the former battlefield was out of sight, turning back to watch as John and some of the men from Jamestown hauled Ratcliffe up and bound his hands with rope given to them by one of the braves. Pocahontas had returned to Nakoma and was holding her friend tight, stroking her hair as she cried.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Rinally asked.

"I think so." Kaoru answered. "I believe in them."

He started walking, heading deeper into the forest. Rin caught up to him and walked silently beside him. Kaoru could no longer sense any Heartless nearby, and figured they had either all been destroyed or absorbed by the Darkside before it had merged with Ratcliffe. A part of him wished that there was something left to fight, because he felt incredibly frustrated. Frustrated because, despite their best efforts, he and Rin hadn't been able to save Kocoum. They hadn't been able to stop his death. Kaoru hadn't been able to stop Ratcliffe before things escalated to extremes. And he hadn't been able to learn more about the strangers in black nor about the black rods. All he knew was that this organization was experimenting, they knew about the strength of the Keyblades, and they wanted something more than just control over the darkness in the hearts of people and the Heartless.

He wanted the answers he couldn't seem to find.

Every time he thought that he was getting closer to finally making sense of what he was facing, or what was actually happening, something happened to destroy whatever theory or assumption he made. And, quite possibly worse, there was no sign of his friends.

 _Ratcliffe said this world was a closed world. What did he mean by that?_

Another mystery to add to the others already piling up on his shoulders.

They finally reached the same clearing where they had first arrived to this world, and Kaoru summoned Guardian. His armor appeared on his right arm, covering his entire limb. The silver and gold armor no longer shimmered with the prismatic light, though on the pauldron there was a slight glow. Rinally reached to hook her arm around his, holding tight to him. Holding Guardian out straight before him, Kaoru used his Keyblade to open a portal to the Paths of Darkness. They walked into the realm between realms, unsure where this path would take them.


	24. Chapter 24

Twenty-Three - Lumina Cross

The world they arrived on next was a world caught in perpetual day, it seemed. Kaoru and Rinally exited the alleyway they had arrived in, staring up at the tall buildings and the myriad of flashing lights and glowing neon signs. The lights were so bright that they blocked out all signs of the stars and moon, giving the place an artificial feel. Kaoru shielded his eyes from a nearby neon sign to look up toward the sky, and was startled to see that there was no sky at all, but rather an opaque dome that stretched across the place. Rinally let out a low whistle.

"I've never seen a place like this." Rin said.

"Me neither. I wonder where we are." Kaoru moved a little further out onto the street, staring around at all the signs and staring at the dome above their heads. "I wonder if they're trying to keep something out, or if they're trying to keep something in."

Rin followed his gaze and lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. "Who knows? I bet you anything that we'll find out. The other thing I wanna know is, where is everyone?"

Kaoru dropped his gaze from the dome and glanced around them. The street they had emerged onto was completely empty. Save for the buzzing of the neon signs and the other lights, it was completely quiet. There were no people in the shop windows, or sitting in the restaurants. There wasn't even a sign of pedestrian traffic, or really, traffic of any kind.

He looked at Rinally. "Should we go looking?"

"I mean... I guess? If there are special rules to this world, I'd kinda like to know them. I don't want to be discovered as being an off-worlder, do you?"

"I guess not. But this could be a world that has connections with others. Maybe there are even gummi ships that come here."

"Maybe. We can hope. But our luck hasn't been that good."

Kaoru smiled slightly, agreeing. The last world they had ended up on had been a closed world that, according to their enemy, not even Sora had been to. There was no telling what kind of world they had ended up on now. Was it as advanced as their worlds had been? Or was it advanced, but still closed? Kaoru wondered what they were going to encounter when they finally found someone who lived here. They wandered down the street until they came to a large square. In the center of the square was a massive fountain, complete with ornate statuary of gods and goddesses and monsters all locked in battle with one another. Water splashed down the fountain in mockery of blood and tears, falling into the wide circular basin below. The basin, Kaoru noticed, was devoid of the usual things he thought he would find in every fountain - wish-making coins - and seemed too clean. The square was perhaps the darkest part of the city, lit only with soft lamps set in the fountain's base, and like the rest of the place, it was empty.

A faint roar filled the air, though, coming from the other side of the square. Kaoru and Rinally glanced at each other, then sought a way through the square, following the noise. They emerged onto a grassy rise that led down into a bowl-shaped depression in the land. There was a great amphitheater set into the depression, complete with a large flat-topped stone that acted like a stage. Ringed around it were stadium-like seats, and filling those seats were hundreds of people. They threw their fists into the air and screamed, filling the amphitheater with thunderous noise.

On the stage stood a man dressed in a dark blue suit. His black hair had been slicked back, which made his face look severe and bony. A diadem made of silver encircled his head, which made him look washed out and pale. He pointed at another person on stage, behind him and out of Kaoru's line of sight, shouting to be heard over the crowd, which continued to roar. Arrayed on the four corners of the stage were four broad-shouldered, heavily muscled men in full-plate armor and plumed helmets. They held a trident in one hand and a sword in the other. Their faces, Kaoru noticed, were utterly blank but their eyes were frozen and almost contemptuous. They didn't move from their statuesque positions, except to move their eyes across the crowd if someone seemed to get too close to the stage and tighten their hands on their weapons.

"Is it a trial?" Rinally asked.

"Seems like a really weird trial if it is one." Kaoru replied.

"Should we get closer?"

"And if we get caught?"

"We run."

Kaoru couldn't help the short laugh that escaped him. "All right. I don't see how it could hurt, if we stay toward the back."

Rin and Kaoru slowly made their way down the hill until they found an open spot near the back of the crowd. The roar was louder now, but they could at least see what was going on, even if they still couldn't hear what the man on the stage was saying. Kaoru could now see the other person on stage, and he felt something in his chest tighten. He felt, acutely, the whisper of darkness against his mind, terribly strong and fighting to be acknowledged. He reached out and grabbed Rinally's hand, earning a shocked look from her before it turned concerned. Then, when the person looked up at him and their eyes met, Kaoru felt a punch of raw power that left him feeling dizzy.

It was also clear that the other boy had felt the same thing, for his emerald green eyes widened and his body tensed.

Kaoru couldn't help but stare at the boy on stage. If Kaoru was a scion of the light, then the boy on stage was pure darkness. Perhaps a year older than Kaoru, he had shoulder-length fire red hair and bright emerald eyes that focused and sharpened as he continued to stare at Kaoru. He wore blue jeans, a golden-yellow belt, a short-sleeved plain red shirt that was unbuttoned to display a solid black tank-top, and brown gloves. He had a silver pendant around his neck in the shape of a cross. His arms were behind his back, so Kaoru couldn't tell if he was bound or not. But, kneeling like that, being pointed at like that, and with the roar of the crowd, Kaoru could infer that the boy wasn't up there on stage being hailed as a hero.

"Kaoru?" Rinally whispered, her voice right by his ear so he could hear her. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head, his eyes never leaving the red-headed boy's. He held tighter to Rin's hand, hoping he wouldn't fall down. "There's something about that boy. He's so full of darkness."

Rinally looked from Kaoru to the boy on stage. He could tell right away that Rin couldn't feel what he could. She couldn't feel the pull of darkness, couldn't feel that strange push-pull that light and darkness shared. But she believed him. That much he could see on her face. She gripped his hand back and pulled on him, drawing him back from the crowd and at last breaking his eye contact with the boy on stage. Kaoru looked over his shoulder at the boy, seeing those green eyes still riveted on him. It made him shiver.

The crowd roared at whatever the man in the suit and diadem was saying. Rinally put her hands on either side of Kaoru's face and forced him to look at her. Her eyes roamed his face, as if trying to see if his sudden exposure to that darkness the boy exuded was going to lay him flat on his back as it had done on Belle's world. Kaoru knew she was worried; if he was unable to use Guardian or defend himself, it would be up to her to protect them both. And they still weren't sure what kind of world they were on. If this crowd was any indication of how these people treated someone who just might be different, then they weren't safe here.

"I'm okay." Kaoru said at last, pulling Rin's hands away from his face. "I'm okay. I promise."

Rin searched his face again, but she nodded. "If you start feeling the way you did on Belle's world, you tell me. You tell me right away. Okay?"

"Okay."

Someone in the crowd screamed.

Kaoru and Rinally spun to face the amphitheater, staring with wide eyes as the crowd began to panic, multiple voices raising to add to the confusion. Bright explosions scattered many people in the crowd, the concussive waves of the explosions throwing people to the ground. The man in the suit stared out at the crowd as if they were betraying him by screaming and fleeing, then turned to look at the redhead as if this was somehow his fault. The men in the armor turned as well, their weapons ready to both defend the man in the suit and attack whatever was coming at them.

The redheaded boy just grinned at the man in the suit. He surged to his feet and leaped backwards off the stage, bringing his arms before him by tucking his feet up and then pushing them down through the circle his arms made. He landed lightly on the balls of his feet, then yanked his hands free of the rope that had bound them. He ducked into the crowd and was gone. The man in the suit started pointing emphatically after him, screaming at the guards gathered around him. Then the man looked up toward Kaoru and Rinally, and his eyes went wide in shock. He grabbed the guard nearest him, forcing the man to turn around. He pointed at Kaoru and Rin, shouting into the guard's ear. The guard, with his cold gaze, focused on Kaoru and Rin and readied his weapons, nodding. He started forward, like a hulking sentinel.

"Come on!" Kaoru grabbed Rin's hand and pulled her with him as he turned around and broke into a flat run. With the crowd rushing around them, it was easy to get lost in the city, and it was easy to lose their pursuit. Kaoru led Rinally around corners and down alleys, getting deeper into the neon-lit city.

Behind, the sounds of explosions quieted into silence, but the city came to life with incredible noise. Sirens began to wail and bright lights from the dome above began to compete with the neon signs below. Kaoru and Rin ducked into a doorway of a building, pressing up as close to the door as they could to avoid a bright beam of light as it swept through the street they had been running down. When it passed, they began running again. Kaoru turned a corner and skidded to a stop, inhaling sharply as he nearly collided with the red-headed boy from earlier.

Rinally slammed into Kaoru's back, giving a soft curse as she pushed herself back from him. "Kaoru, what-" She stopped talking as she saw the red-head, just staring at him with wide eyes.

Kaoru couldn't help but stare at the boy standing in front of him. He was a few inches taller than Kaoru and had a little more muscle on him than Kaoru did. The boy's green eyes were narrowed as they met Kaoru's blue ones, and for a second, Kaoru thought he was going to be punched. Then the redhead reached out and took hold of Kaoru's wrist, yanking on him.

"This way." said the redhead, his voice a little deeper than Kaoru's. He pulled on Kaoru's wrist, leading him and Rin down the street and toward an alley at the end. They ducked down it just as another search light spread out through the street.

The redhead ran full tilt toward a wall at the end of the alley. He didn't give Kaoru a chance to dig in his heels and stop them; he simply yanked on Kaoru's wrist and dove with him _through_ the wall. Kaoru yelled as he dropped a few feet onto a pile of cardboard boxes and plastic trash bags, bouncing twice before coming to a rest. Rin landed on top of him with a yelp. She pushed herself up, looking down at him.

"Kaoru! Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." he gasped. "I'm okay."

She stared at him for a minute, then whirled around to face the redhead, who stood only a few feet away, watching them. Kaoru couldn't be sure if it was the apathetic way the redhead regarded her, or if Rinally simply lost control of her temper, but she jumped to her feet and grabbed the other boy by his red shirt, hauling him down to her level.

"Who the _hell_ do you think you are?!" she shouted at him. He merely blinked, one eyebrow raising as if the answer should be obvious to her. "You can't just kidnap people like that! You could've gotten us killed! What the hell was going on back there? Why were you on display like that?" She shook him. "Say something!"

The redhead gripped Rin's wrists and pried her hands off him. His eyes slid from Rinally to Kaoru. "Who are you?"

"Hey!" Rin snapped. "I'm talking to you! Don't act like I'm not here!"

The redhead continued to ignore her. "Who are you?" he asked Kaoru again.

"My name is Kaoru." Kaoru got to his feet, reaching for Rin to pull her away from the redhead and restrain her before she really did lose her temper and lay the other boy flat. "This is my friend, Rinally. Who are you? What's going on? Why were you up on that stage like that? Who was that guy?"

The redhead's eyes narrowed. "You annoy me, and I don't know why. Yet. You feel... bright." He reached out to grip Kaoru's chin, tilting his head back and then from side to side, as if he were examining him. "I felt it. This searing heat against my mind. I know it's your fault."

Rin shoved the redhead back from Kaoru and stepped between them, glaring. "He asked you some questions, jerk! Answer them!"

The redhead looked at Rinally so coldly that Kaoru was amazed she didn't turn into a block of ice. Then he dismissed her with a flick of the eyes, once more focusing on Kaoru. Wisely, or perhaps unwisely, Kaoru let go of Rin. Her arm cocked back and before the redhead realized what she intended, Rinally punched the other boy square in the mouth. His head snapped back and he stumbled backwards, nearly falling down. Kaoru watched, stunned and confused, as black flooded the whites of the redhead's eyes, and his green irises turned a butter-yellow. Heartless eyes. His chest tightened as he felt a sudden surge of darkness, an intense cold that pressed hard against his mind, powerful and focused. He reacted on instinct, reaching out to grab Rin by her shoulder and pull her behind him, putting himself between her and the redhead. He then placed his open palm against the redhead's chest, as if stopping him before he could lunge at Rin. He only gave the lightest bit of pressure, feeling his own light surge and rise to answer the darkness coming from the other boy.

Those Heartless eyes stared at him, wide and confused rather than scared, and then slowly the black and gold faded away to white and green. The redhead straightened, staring down at Kaoru. They were so close to one another now, close enough that Kaoru could see that the other boy's eyes weren't fully emerald, but green with tiny brown flecks around his pupil. Kaoru felt his heart begin to beat faster, and a strange flash of hot/cold went through him.

"Who are you?" the redhead whispered, his deep voice awed and confused.

Kaoru swallowed hard. "Who are you?"

The redhead stepped back at last. Kaoru felt the darkness recede, but it only went as far away as the redhead himself was. Oddly enough, Kaoru didn't feel dizzy this time, and he didn't feel like he was going to collapse because of the opposing power. The redhead's eyes flicked to Rin, then back to Kaoru. "I'm Kai." he said at last. A heartbeat passed. Two. Then, "It's not safe here. We've escaped for now, but it won't be long before they come looking in this tunnel."

"Is there somewhere safe we can go?" Kaoru asked.

"And will you answer our questions when we get there?" Rin asked, a slight bit of attitude in her voice.

Kai was still for a minute, then he nodded. "Yes, I'll take you there, and yes, I'll answer whatever you want, _if_ you answer my questions." He lifted a hand and pointed at Rin. "And don't hit me again. Kaoru won't be able to stop me next time."

Rin stuck her tongue out at Kai. "If you'd stop being such a dick, I wouldn't hit you."

Kai's eyes narrowed at her, but he apparently thought better than pursuing the argument and fight that was obviously building between them. He gestured for them to follow, then spun on his heel and started down the tunnel. Kaoru and Rin followed behind him, keeping silent as they walked. Kaoru knew that Rin was fuming, but he was grateful that she wasn't saying anything. The darkness within Kai was incredibly powerful. Kaoru doubted that, in a real fight, he'd be able to survive against him. It had only been through the surprise they both had had that he'd been able to stop Kai from attacking Rin.

Kai led them through the tunnel for a long while, past mounds of trash and boarded-up chutes. Finally, they arrived at a chute that had graffiti spray-painted over the boards that blocked it. Kai pulled at two boards, revealing a handle that he used to open the door that the boards actually were. He stood back and gestured for them to go in first. Kaoru gently pushed Rin ahead of him, then followed her in. Kai brought up the rear and closed the door firmly behind them, immersing them all in darkness.

"I can't see." Rin said.

"Can't risk a light." Kai replied. Without a word, he slipped his hand into Kaoru's. "I'll lead you."

Kaoru took hold of Rin's hand when Kai tugged on his, and they walked together in a linked human chain through the darkness with Kai in the lead. Kaoru was grateful for the darkness, only because it hid the fact that his cheeks were turning bright red. It wasn't like he hadn't held hands with another boy before - he'd once held hands with Hiromu when they were going through a haunted house attraction one year - but for some reason, Kai was different. There was that pull of... something. The attraction of light to darkness, maybe. The two forces couldn't exist without each other, and if there was someone who existed like Kaoru did - someone who was sensitive to light, who could see the light in other people - there should exist his exact opposite. Someone who was sensitive to darkness, someone who could see or sense the darkness in other people.

Kaoru looked toward where Kai's back would be, had he been able to see it. Did Kai feel the same things that he was feeling? Already he could tell that Kai had a caustic personality. He wanted what he wanted when he wanted it, and didn't take challenge well. He wanted to be dominant. Kaoru doubted Kai had met anyone like Rin, who was a dominant personality herself, or like Kaoru, who was mostly laid back but had quite the temper when pushed. He also doubted Kai had ever had the chance to be so close to someone who radiated Light like he radiated Darkness.

The tunnel eventually began to brighten. First it began as the lightening of the shadows, a steady gradient that allowed their eyes to adjust. As soon as they became able to see, Kai released Kaoru's hand. He stepped down a small staircase, then stopped to turn back and look at Kaoru and Rinally. They stepped down and joined Kai on a ledge that overlooked a tent-city. There were people standing among the tents, all young kids ranging in age from about four or five to Kai's age and maybe a little older. They all looked up at Kai and his guests with mixed expressions, as if they were unsure if they should flee and hide or greet the two strangers.

Kai held up a hand, as if he were silencing the kids, despite the fact that they were already quiet. "They're with me." he said. "This is Kaoru and Rinally."

There was a tentative "Welcome!" that chorused from the group below, but no one dared move a muscle until Kai had led Kaoru and Rin down into the tent-city and then out of sight. Kaoru looked around the tent they were in, noting the dark tones in the curtains and pillows that made up the decorations and sleeping space. There was very little in the way of personal effects, except for a worn photograph that Kai quickly grabbed and stuffed under a nearby pillow. He gestured for them to sit, and they did so. He sat in front of them and braced his hands on his knees.

Rin raised her hand. "Is there any chance of getting something to eat before we start trading inquisitions?"

Kai's lips twitched, but Kaoru couldn't tell if it was from contempt or his attempt to keep from smiling. He nodded and rose. "I'll get something. It won't be much, but it'll fill you up. I suppose you want something to drink too."

Rin gave him her best razor sharp icy smile. "That would be greatly appreciated."

Kai's eyes narrowed at her, and he all but stormed out of the tent, leaving Kaoru and Rin by themselves.


	25. Chapter 25

Twenty-Four - Lumina Cross

Kai was gone for only a handful of minutes, returning with a few packets of hard biscuits and three cans of carbonated tea. He handed a can to Kaoru and Rin each, then sat and put the packets between them. Rin looked at the offered fare with a bit of skepticism, but said nothing. Kaoru was grateful for that. He didn't doubt that Kai would take the food away if she started complaining.

After eating a few of the biscuits, which were hard and dry and tasted like sawdust, Kaoru chased them with a bit of the tea, which also had an odd taste to it. It took effort for him to swallow it all down. Rin wasn't faring much better, also choking it down with effort. Kai seemed not to notice, plowing through his share without so much as a grimace. Finally, Kaoru set his tea and half-eaten biscuit down, and focused on Kai. "What world is this?" he asked.

A red eyebrow rose. "You don't know?"

Kaoru shook his head.

Kai set aside his tea and leaned back on his hands. "This is Lumina Cross. It's a closed world. Which makes how you got here really interesting."

"It seems to be a skill of ours to get into 'closed worlds'." Rin said blandly.

Kaoru glanced at her, then back at Kai. "The questions I asked you earlier. Will you answer them now?"

"If you answer mine."

"I'll try."

"Then this is what we'll do. You ask a question, I'll answer, then I'll ask a question, and you'll answer. That fair?"

"Fair enough." Kaoru said. "Why were you up on stage like that, and who was that guy in the suit?"

"That's two questions." Kai said, a hint of a smile on his face.

"So?" Rin interjected. "Just answer them."

Kai shrugged. "I was up there because I got caught, obviously. And that guy is this world's leader. His name is Demetrius Secundus, the current Princeps of Lumina Cross. My turn. Where did you come from, and how did you get here?"

"We came from two different worlds." Kaoru answered. "I'm from Paradise City, and Rin's from the Sky Islands. Our worlds were destroyed by the Heartless, and we met in a hub world called Traverse Town, and have been together ever since."

"And we got here using some weird rip in reality." Rinally added. "We think it's the world between worlds, a place that connects everything, but it's not like we choose where it takes us. We just sort of... end up where we're needed."

"You think you're needed here?" Kai asked skeptically.

" _We_ don't think anything." Rin replied hotly. "The forces that be decided we needed to be here. The last world we were on was a closed world too."

"What's a 'closed world'?" Kaoru asked. "I've heard that term twice now."

Kai blinked, honestly surprised. "You don't know?"

Kaoru shook his head. "We've been to two other worlds besides Lumina Cross, fighting Heartless, and fighting this organization that uses black rods of pure darkness to control the Heartless. They've also used the rods to change people into monsters using the darkness inside them."

Kai was quiet for a while. He stared at Kaoru, his eyes roaming the blonde's face as if he was trying to decide if Kaoru was lying or not. Finally, he said, "Closed worlds are worlds haven't Connected. No one can enter them from the outside. You have to be invited in."

"Connected?"

"Imagine a great big pathway that has dozens and dozens of branches. Now, all of the branches lead somewhere, but when you go down certain paths, you find that there's a wall between you and what's on the other side. You can't get over, under, or around the wall on your own, but if someone helps you, then you're able to get around, under, or over the wall." Kai explained. "Those paths belonged to Unconnected worlds."

Kaoru abruptly turned to Rinally, frowning. "Tsenacommacah was an Unconnected world, but They were there. I doubt Ratcliffe could've helped Them come through, so how could they have gotten there?"

Rin rubbed her chin. "Maybe the same way we did? From that strange in-between place. That's how we've been getting everywhere."

"But we've never seen or heard any other people there. Just Heartless. And even they stay away from us. Except for that one big one."

"Which we haven't seen, thank the gods."

"But we weren't invited into Tsenacommacah or Lumina Cross." Kaoru said. "No one helped us over the wall."

"Pocahontas needed our help." Rin reasoned. "Maybe that's why we were allowed into her world. Like you said, we end up where we're needed most. Or, maybe, not 'we', but you, Kaoru. You're a Keyblade wielder. You have the ability to travel to any world. Guardian is probably like a master key; you don't need help to get past the wall, because you have the key to open the door."

"So how are They getting into closed worlds? Do you think They have a Keyblade too?"

"I don't know. Maybe They're using something else. I mean, the Heartless are able to get past the walls of closed worlds. They could be piggy-backing the Heartless."

"You have a Keyblade?" Kai asked abruptly.

Kaoru and Rin looked at him, staring at him as if his question had suddenly reminded them what kind of dangerous situation they really were in. Despite Kaoru's uncertain feelings about him, he still wasn't sure if he could trust Kai. Kaoru tightened his hands on his knees. "I do." he said at last.

"Can I see it?"

Kaoru hesitated. "Tell us why Demetrius had you tied up in front of all those people. Those explosions were designed to free you, right? Tell us what's going on, and maybe, _maybe_ , I'll show you my Keyblade."

Kai frowned, his eyes focused on Kaoru's. He was searching for a way out of answering, Kaoru was sure. For a long minute, Kaoru wondered if Kai would decide that seeing Guardian wasn't worth the price of talking. Finally, he said, "I spoke out against Demetrius. Everyone here, they spoke out against him, too. There's different pockets of us, all under the city. This is where the children stay, since this part of the underground is more protected. Demetrius wants to open Lumina Cross, but only to those who can pay the price. Many of the people who live here are poor. The city is bright and lively, yeah, but it's all to hide the fact that there's great poverty here."

"So you're basically revolutionaries." Rin said.

Kai lifted his shoulder. "More like terrorists. We break into the houses of the rich and take what's rightfully ours. We sabotage any effort on Secundus's part to open Lumina Cross and make it Connected. In return, he hunts us down. Doesn't matter how young or old we are; if he catches us, we get paraded through town to that stage, where we have a mock trial, and then." He drew a finger across his throat.

Kaoru shivered. "He caught you."

"I allowed myself to get caught." Kai corrected. His eyes focused on Kaoru and grew sharper. "He fears me, because of what I can do. Because of what I represent. He killed my parents. He forced them to work in the mines beneath the city to power his damned residence. They gave their blood, sweat, and tears just to make sure I had enough to eat each day, and they died because Secundus refused to give them the life he promised them. So I swore I'd bring him down, and that if Lumina Cross became Connected, it would open for everyone, not just the people who could bribe their way in, or pay their way in."

"You were going to assassinate him then, weren't you? But our arrival messed all that up."

"It messed up my plan for sure." Kai agreed. "But if you're here for a reason, like you said, then that reason has to be to help me. Help me overthrow Secundus. Help me open Lumina Cross for everyone. Help me get the people out of the mines beneath the city, so they can live their lives doing what they love, not slaving to power a madman's dream."

Kaoru and Rinally glanced at each other. They were likely having the same thoughts; could they really trust what Kai was telling them? Could they use their powers to bring down the ruling power of a world, based on the obviously biased word of an inhabitant? Granted, Kai knew more about Demetrius Secundus and Lumina Cross than they did, and based on Secundus's behavior when he'd first spotted them at Kai's "trial", Kaoru didn't want anything to do with him. He looked away from Rin then, staring at the biscuits in front of him. He remembered too clearly Kocoum's death at the hands of Ratcliffe. He remembered everything that Ratcliffe had done in order to ensure his will would be enforced. Could he really go through something like that again? Could he allow someone, even someone evil, to be killed? And how many innocent people would get caught in the crossfire?

But Kai had brought up a good point. If they were brought to these worlds because they were needed, because the power of the Keyblade was needed, then it was Kaoru's responsibility to help where he could. He just didn't know if it was Kai's cause that he was supposed to be helping.

"Well?" Kai demanded when too much silence had gone by. "What do you say?"

Kaoru pressed his lips into a thin line. He had to give Kai an answer. His uncertainty wouldn't allow him to commit fully to Kai's will, so he decided that he would be diplomatic about it. If he could find out more information, it might help him decide what it was he was here to do.

"I-"

"Kai! Kai! _KAI!_ "

The three of them were on their feet in a flash, bursting out of Kai's tent to answer the frantic call. A girl, perhaps only twelve years old, was crumbling under the weight of an old man. He had been tortured. A thousand or more small wounds littered his body, bright with fresh blood. His face was a mass of bruises. Other kids were crowded around them, trying to help the girl, trying to help the old man. Kai barked a few orders to the kids, sending them scurrying off on different tasks. Kai immediately rushed to the old man, relieving the girl of his weight. He gently lowered the old man to the ground, where his head was supported by a number of jackets that the kids surrounding them had given up. Kai leaned close to the man, whispering to him. Kaoru watched Kai's face turn stony, anger making his eyes narrow.

Rin pushed her way through the crowd, then knelt beside the old man. Kai looked up at her suspiciously. She merely gave him a mild look back. "I can help him. If you let me."

Kai hesitated, then nodded.

Rinally hovered her hands over the worst of the old man's wounds, a green light appearing beneath her palms. The Cura spell she cast quickly closed the wound, and a number of others besides. Everyone watched, eyes wide. Except Kai. He only looked thoughtful.

Then he looked up at Kaoru and said, "There was an attack. They found their way into the tunnels, and found one of the camps where the adults stay. He's the only one who made it out."

Kaoru shivered. "Why?"

"Because Secundus is evil. Because he won't allow anyone who challenges him to live. Because he wants to be in control of everything." Kai shrugged. "Does a dictator need a reason to do anything he wants to do?"

"Kaoru." Rin said softly.

Kaoru looked at her. Her eyes were focused on him, twin chips of maroon in an otherwise pale face. She nodded, just a subtle dip of her chin. Kaoru swallowed hard, then nodded back. He looked at Kai and held out his hand.

"We'll help you." he said at last.

Kai looked at Kaoru's hand, then reached out and gripped it tight. "Then it's time to fight."


	26. Chapter 26

Twenty-Five - Lumina Cross

The preparations for battle took less time than Kaoru thought they would. Most of it consisted with packing up the current camp and herding the children into the deeper tunnels. The old man Rinally had healed went with them, holding the hands of some of the younger children so they wouldn't get lost. Kai wouldn't say where they were going, only that they would be safer when they got there. Then, Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally left the abandoned camp and headed into the tunnels themselves, following Kai through myriad passageways until they emerged into an subbasement of a building. It was completely pitch black, which meant that Kaoru and Rin were once more relying on Kai to lead the way. It didn't take long for the redhead to find a hidden latch that opened a trap door, and he guided Rin and Kaoru up through it and into the actual basement.

Surrounding them were a dozen or more adults, each one holding a weapon of some kind, and each one aiming it at the strangers. Kai held up his hand, focusing on a man near the back of the rather hostile group.

"They're with me," he said.

"Who are they?" the man asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Kai nodded. "The blonde is a Keyblade Wielder. His name is Kaoru. The girl is Rin; she's a witch. She healed Lars."

The man's eyes went wide. "He's alive?"

"The only survivor. He's with the children. He's leading the kids to that place."

The group surrounding them began to whisper among themselves, and then slowly, the weapons drew back, allowing the teenagers to emerge more fully out of the trap door and then stand. Kaoru studied the men and women surrounding them. A handful of resistance fighters against a trained army? What were they thinking?

The man stepped forward and offered his hand to Kaoru. "My name is Ioshua. I'm the leader of the resistance. I'm glad you've come. If you truly are a Keyblade Wielder, then you'll be a valuable asset."

Kaoru took Ioshua's hand timidly. The man had a powerful grip. His skin was criss-crossed with scars, and lines creased his face, especially around his eyes. "I still don't know what's really going on."

Ioshua glanced at Kai, then focused on Kaoru and Rin again. "Lumina Cross is ruled by a monarchy. Or it used to be. About ten years ago, the last Princeps decided that Lumina Cross would become an open world, so that we could meet new people, learn new things, perhaps even increase trade. There was a huge plan to open up a port for gummi ships, new restaurants, and other things besides. What you see up there, all those signs, was the beginning of the Princeps' idea. But others didn't think that opening Lumina Cross was what was best. Everyone had heard of the story of Sora, the young Keyblade Master. Everyone had heard of the Heartless. People were afraid that if Lumina Cross became an open world, then the Heartless would invade. Or that something else equally destructive might happen. It took the Princeps months to convince people to take the chance."

"But," said Kai, "his dreams never came to pass."

"Why?" Rin asked.

"Secundus assassinated him." Ioshua answered softly. His eyes, Kaoru noticed, showed real pain. "Secundus leads a group of people who wanted to open Lumina Cross, but only for those who could pay the toll. He wanted to make Lumina Cross a place where the poor worked long hours and for little pay in order to support the extravagant lifestyles of those who had thrown their lot in with him. Many of the people who you see living above the surface are people who have either paid to live there, or have promised Secundus something. The rest of the population you never see. They're either in the mines, working to death, or they're part of the resistance."

"That seems pretty cruel." Rin replied.

"For whatever reason, Secundus believes that he can keep power by shaping things the way he wants them to be." Ioshua said. "He's completely delusional. Lumina Cross is so poor that in just a few years time, even those who are in his favor won't be able to live. But every time we try to convince them of that, they just want us to work harder."

"And Secundus does whatever he can to hunt down the members of the resistance." Kai said. "We try to remove him, but he's untouchable. The closest we got was earlier, when you showed up."

Kaoru was quiet for a minute. Then he looked at Ioshua. "Have there been any strangers here recently? Maybe meeting with Secundus?"

"Can't say that I've seen anyone. Secundus is paranoid. He won't allow anyone near him unless they're one of his constructs. I've seen him kill one of his own advisors when the man started speaking about darkness and light, and how Secundus's actions were endangering our world."

"Is he afraid of darkness?"

"More like, he's scared of darkness _and_ light."

Kaoru and Rin exchanged looks. It seemed as though they were now being pulled into a civil war between two different schools of thought. Granted, Secundus had shown both of them that he was a bad person, perhaps not inherently evil, but definitely someone who needed to be stopped. The problem was, the resistance didn't prove that they were any better. Kaoru didn't want to end up using Guardian to bring down the current Princeps, only have Lumina Cross come under the control of someone who was worse. Not that he was sure what he would be paving the way for would be worse, but from his point of view, he was doing a lot of interfering that didn't have to deal with the Heartless. A lot of interfering that didn't have to do with the true purpose of the Keyblades.

So he looked at Ioshua and said, "I promised Kai that we would help you, but I don't think this kind of situation is meant for a Keyblade. I'm not saying I'm reneging on my promise, I'm just saying I may not be able to use my Keyblade to fight."

"I understand. Keyblades are meant to fight against the forces of Darkness. They're not meant to destroy dictators, no matter how awful they are. Still," Ioshua said, "just knowing you're with us may make Secundus think twice." He clapped Kaoru on the shoulder, then turned to the gathered men and women. "We have to move carefully and smart. Secundus is definitely expecting a counterattack. He'll have holed himself up there, and surrounded it with his constructs. If we want to end this today, we have to strike a decisive blow, one Secundus won't be able to recover from."

The men and women surrounding them nodded, making soft noises of confirmation.

"Also, we're going to split into groups. If we move through the city in a large mob, we're going to be seen before we want to be. We'll take different paths and then meet at the fountain. It's about that time, so we should be able to hide in the crowd. Once the show starts, we should be able to slip around and to the Princeps' Residence. Kai, I want you to stay with Kaoru and Rin. They're going to be our trump cards, so I don't want them getting into danger. Understand me?"

Kaoru looked over at Kai, noting how the redhead stood slightly apart from the rest of them, with his arms crossed over his chest in a defensive position. He was staring at Ioshua as if the man had said the exact opposite thing that Kai had been wanting to hear. He remembered what Kai had told him, about how Secundus had been responsible for his parents' deaths, and how much he wanted to get revenge. Kaoru had probably taken that hope away by saying he wouldn't use his Keyblade to help, but it seemed as if Ioshua was taking measures to _not_ allow Kai to fight.

But Kai only said, "Yeah."

After that it was a flurry of carefully controlled motion. People slipped out of the building through different hidden doors in groups of one, two, or three. They hid their weapons inside coats or backpacks, or dressed them up as other things, like umbrellas or canes. Soon it was just Ioshua, Kai, Kaoru, and Rin left in the building. Ioshua drew Kai aside and gripped tight to the boy's shoulder as they spoke in low tones. Kai gestured angrily, his eyes burning with rage. Ioshua just shook his head, said something, and Kai stiffened before deflating in defeat. He nodded, but it was clear he didn't like submitting. Then Ioshua turned to Kaoru and Kai, nodded to them, and left.

Silence reigned in the basement for a while.

Then Kai blew out a breath. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Rin asked.

"Like Ioshua said. The water fountain."

Kaoru fell into step beside Kai when they emerged onto the street. Kai walked tensely, his eyes ever forward. There was a sternness to his jaw that hadn't been there before Ioshua had said whatever he'd said to him. To Kaoru, Kai looked like someone ready for a fight and determined to find one, just to be able to cut loose and release the pent-up anger and frustration that currently filled his body. Rin walked behind them, studying the neon signs and the doorways they passed, keeping close to avoid bumping into other people on the street. There seemed to be a cloud of tension throughout the entire city. People walked by with heads bowed, not making eye contact with anyone. Even teenagers like Kaoru, Rin, and Kai were hurrying to get off the streets instead of hanging out at arcades or cafes.

"Does everyone know what happened?" Rinally asked in a whisper. "With the attack, I mean."

Kai nodded. "Secundus broadcasts it. Makes sure everyone watches. It's a reminder never to get on his bad side. To never look beyond what you're allotted."

"Do you really want him dead?" Kaoru asked quietly.

"Of course I do!" Kai growled. "He killed my parents! He's killed my friends! He's made the lives of everyone hell! Everything he's doing, it isn't the actions of a benevolent leader who thinks about his people's well-being! He's just doing whatever he wants, and makes sure that it's _his_ pockets that are filled with riches. No one deserves to live without hope. No one deserves to live being used as stepping stones by those who think they're better. I'm going to bring him down, and I'm going to make sure he pays for everything he's done."

"When you seek revenge," Kaoru whispered, "dig two graves."

Rin looked at him startled, but Kai only looked confused. Kaoru met Kai's gaze evenly. "It's a saying. It means that when you kill the person you're after, you'll be killed yourself."

Kai scoffed. "If that were true, then we wouldn't have this problem."

Rinally wrapped her hand around Kaoru's wrist, staying the words that were about to come out of his mouth. She drew him back a little bit. "He isn't going to stop," she whispered to him. "He's going to keep fighting, until either Secundus is dead, or he is."

Kaoru watched Kai's back as they walked through the streets, taking all sorts of twists and turns as they headed toward their destination. Kai's back was tight and stiff with anger, and his step was heavy and determined. Rin's words echoed in Kaoru's mind, a constant reminder that this person in front of him would risk everything to achieve what he wanted. There was no middle ground, no grey area for Kai. It was all or nothing. Kaoru clenched his fist. He didn't want anyone else to die. Oh, he knew people died all the time. That was the way of life. But to have a life cut short, to have it violently taken away, that was what he didn't want. Suddenly he realized that, if he wasn't here to help Ioshua defeat Secundus, then he was here to protect not only the resistance fighters, but their enemies as well. He was here to stand between them.

Convinced of his role, Kaoru stepped a little more confidently after Kai. Rin must have noticed the change in him, because she caught up with him and smiled. Wherever he stood, Kaoru knew Rinally would stand with him.

They reached the fountain area, and they weren't alone. A crowd was already gathered there, in groups of twos and threes, chatting and laughing and acting as if nothing was wrong. Kaoru couldn't tell who was part of the resistance and who was a normal citizen. He spotted Ioshua in the shadows, standing with a woman whose face was masked by goggles. Ioshua was looking over the crowd, studying the people. He nodded when he saw Kaoru with Kai and Rin, then put a finger to his lips. Then, he and the woman slipped away, moving like ghosts through the shadows.

Kai stood staring up at the fountain, his arms crossed over his chest. His face seemed to be set in a permanent scowl, and Kaoru wondered if the water would turn to ice from how hard Kai was glaring at it. Kaoru approached him, standing beside him without actually touching him. Kai's green eyes slid to him, then slid back to the water. Kaoru focused on the top of the fountain, not saying anything, just waiting.

"Just stay out of my way." Kai said softly, a threat unmistakeable in his voice.

Kaoru looked at him then, frowning slightly. "Do you really mean that?"

Kai didn't have to answer; it was written all over his face. He turned his attention away from Kaoru and focused on the fountain. Kaoru shivered, unsure if it was Kai's expression or the feeling of utter malevolence he'd exhumed that made him do so.

The crowds thickened. Kaoru pressed a little closer to Kai and Rin. The three of them stood together, letting the crowd push them where it wanted to. Kaoru didn't think he'd see Kai so passive, but the redhead didn't lift a hand to anyone, let alone snap at them. At one point, Kai actually grabbed Kaoru's hand again, pulling him along as the crowd jostled them away from the fountain and closer to the shadowy building along the edge of the square. Rin followed, keeping up somehow. If she noticed Kai's behavior and Kaoru's red face, she didn't mention it, and Kaoru felt grateful for that. Kai was like a walking contradiction; Kaoru felt as though Kai was the only person in the world who could smile and say 'I'll kill you' at the same time, but then he displayed extreme gentleness and caring in the next breath. His touch was warm and firm, but his eyes were like solid ice.

Then it began. The fountain began to light up with pale primary colors. Yellows and blues mixed to make green, blues and reds mixed to make purple, and yellows and reds mixed to make orange. The colorful display caught everyone's attention, including Kaoru and Rin's. Kaoru couldn't understand where the colors were coming from; when he'd inspected the fountain earlier, he hadn't seen anywhere that could be a source for those lights.

"Pretty," Rin breathed.

"Where do the colors come from?" Kaoru asked.

Kai shrugged. "Secundus had the fountain built about ten years ago, and always keeps adding crap to it that no one knows about. These lights come from polarized crystals hidden in the stone basin and in the statues. Everyone comes here to watch it."

"I guess people enjoy the display." Rin said.

"No. More like we're required to attend. It allows Secundus's people to get a head-count of everyone who's left in Lumina Cross." Kai replied softly.

Kaoru looked around. The entire crowd was captivated by the lights, but he could see people moving slowly out of the crowd. He assumed they were resistance members, making their way to the rendezvous point. "Where is the Princeps' Residence?" he asked.

Kai glanced at him, and then his eyes swept over the crowd. His face remained passive, but his body tensed with excitement. "This way."

Kaoru and Rin followed Kai through the crowd, moving carefully to keep from drawing unwanted attention to themselves. Kai led them away from the fountain toward the giant building resting on the edge of the courtyard, then angled away from it slightly, as if there were an invisible wall there that he didn't want to touch. The three of them edged around a stone pillar that had a lightning rod sticking out of it. On the other side of the pillar was the beginning of a huge wrought-iron fence, which then extended into the shadows beyond the courtyard.

Kai kept walking, but tilted his head to the left. "That's the Residence."

Kaoru and Rin tried to be subtle about looking, but there really wasn't any way to stare at the massive building and not be obvious about it. The Residence was at least six stories and took up most of the street they now walked. It was made of dark, drab stone, which made the building look even larger and more imposing that it actually was. The bare stone between the windows was draped with bone-white tapestries depicting a symbol in deep, deep red. Kaoru assumed the symbol was that of Lumina Cross's ruler, the Princeps, and not necessarily Secundus's own crest. He didn't doubt that Secundus would have done whatever he could to erase the former ruler of Lumina Cross, but to attempt to remove such an important symbol like the crest of the office just seemed ludicrous. _But then,_ Kaoru thought to himself, _who knows what a madman thinks?_

Kai led them past the building and into a side street that walked past another side of the Residence, leading to a gate. Kaoru assumed that it was probably like a servant's entrance, or the staff entrance, or something of the like. Kai said nothing as he stepped up to the gate, slammed his elbow into the pad beside the gate's lock, and pulled off the cover of the pad to reveal a touch screen. It flickered to life, showing only the barest of cracks where Kai's elbow had shattered the fragile glass. Kai punched in a code, then shoved on the gate. It opened with an irritated groan. Kai stepped aside to allow Kaoru and Rinally to step through, then followed them in.


	27. Chapter 27

Twenty-Six - Lumina Cross

They entered into a long outdoor hall guarded on either side by trees that looked black in the darkness. Their branches formed a living dome across the walkway, and low-hanging vines gave the path an eerie feel. Kaoru looked around and shivered, unsure why he was getting such an unpleasant feeling from this place. Rinally called her witch's staff to hand and clutched it tight, as if holding onto the weapon gave her some comfort. Kaoru wanted to call Guardian, but he wasn't sure if the Keyblade would act as a clarion call to any Heartless nearby, or worse, any of Secundus's goons. Kai said nothing, leading them through the shadows as quietly as if he was one himself. They kept up with him, just a step behind, pausing when he paused and hardly daring to breathe when Kai stopped short and stood as still as a statue, his head cocked to one side, just listening.

Then Kaoru heard it, the soft hiss of a fuse. It was barely more than a whisper, so he knew it was somewhere close by, but not so close that it would affect them. Then, the darkness exploded with bright, searing light. He threw up his arms to shield his eyes from the light, and he heard Rinally cry out in shock. Kai, too, twisted to shield his eyes from the bright explosion, snarling the entire time. When the light finally faded, Kaoru looked up to see smoke drifting from somewhere ahead of them, a huge dark plume that had red and gold highlights even in the darkness.

"That bastard," Kai growled. "I'm not letting him take this from me!"

"Kai, wait!" Kaoru called, reaching for the red-head. He caught Kai's shoulder and stopped him from bolting. "Wait. You can't go. You can't. Remember, you told Ioshua you'd stay with us."

Kai's green eyes flickered with gold and black. His teeth bared in a wicked smile that was just on the cusp of feral. "I know what I told him. I also remember telling you that nothing was going to stop me. I'll go through you if I have to, Kaoru. I won't let anyone stop me."

Kaoru held tighter and narrowed his eyes. "Ioshua doesn't want you getting involved. Can't you see that he's trying to protect you?"

"I don't need protecting!"

"Kai, Secundus tried to _kill_ you! He didn't do it because you were part of the rebellion or because you defied him in some way, but because he was scared of you! Do you know why?"

Kai's eyes solidified into pure gold and black began to fill in the whites of his eyes. "I know." he replied with deadly calm. "And if you don't let go of me, I'll show you exactly why."

Rinally's hand settled gently on Kaoru's arm. He looked at her, seeing worry in her eyes. She subtlety shook her head, then gripped Kaoru's arm tighter. Reluctantly, he allowed her to pull his hand off Kai, freeing the redhead to do as he pleased. Kai's gaze flicked to Rinally, though there didn't seem to be any sign of thanks in his eyes, only satisfaction. Then he looked at Kaoru, his changed eyes filled with so much anger and hate that Kaoru knew, if looks could kill, he would be dead right then.

"Kai," Kaoru started.

"Don't." Kai snapped. "Don't get involved. I don't care what you're really here for, don't get between me and my enemy. I meant it when I said I'd go through you."

Then he turned on his heel and ran off into the darkness, following the flickering light of flames. Kaoru stared after him, feeling upset and scared and nervous. But he also knew he couldn't let Kai fight Secundus. He couldn't let Kai get himself killed. He looked at Rinally.

"Why did I stop you?" Rinally shrugged and sighed. "Because now isn't the time to butt heads with him. You're going to need all your strength to stop him, and getting into a fight now would do nothing to help Ioshua. Besides, Kai really _did_ want to kill you."

"I know." Kaoru replied softly. "He's consumed with darkness. You saw his eyes."

"I did."

"Those were Heartless eyes."

"They were."

"But he still has his heart."

"Yep."

"Which means he hasn't completely fallen into depravity yet."

"Nope."

"Which means I still have time to stop him."

"It means _we_ still have time to stop him." Rinally corrected. "Remember, I'm your pocket healer. And I have some pretty badass -ga spells that I can toss his way if I need to."

Kaoru gave her a grateful smile. He held up his hand, focusing a bit of his will. Guardian materialized in his hand in a flash of light. His arm and shoulder became incased in his white and gold armor, and the pauldron began to sparkle with the prismatic light that seemed to be caught within the metal. The light seemed brighter for all the darkness surrounding them. He lifted Guardian, studying the white-gold Keyblade before sweeping it down to his side.

"Ready?" he asked.

Rinally lifted her staff and twirled it once before she swept it down and behind her. She grinned. "Let's go."

They took off running down the path, ignoring the trees flashing by. They followed the tunnel of trees to the end, where they found the source of the smoke. It looked as if Ioshua's men had set charges into the wall of the Residence, opening an almost perfect square in the stone. Debris had crumbled into a barricade, which would have forced anyone trying to get in to crawl over it. Kaoru leaped over it effortlessly, aided by the power of his Keyblade. Rinally simply used an Aero spell to launch herself over the debris, landing beside him with a flurry of air. They were in a huge reception room, decorated tastefully in marble both white and black. Electric lights flickered, a side-effect of the violence wrought upon the outside wall. There was no one in the room, but there were reddish smears on the floor, which proved someone had been there, and recently.

"It's still wet, right?" Kaoru asked.

"I guess? I'm not touching it." Rinally replied. She looked around the room. "Doesn't look like this space gets used a lot. There's dust covers on the furniture over there, and look at the floor. You can see where people stepped."

Kaoru inspected the floor ahead of them. True enough, there were a flurry of footprints leading away from the wall, along with more blood smears on the floor. "Someone was wounded." He started to follow the footprints and smears, quickly picking out which marks belonged to Kai. "Kai came this way, too."

"He's gotta be seconds behind Ioshua and the others."

"Enough of a head-start from us to cause significant damage."

"Yeah. And he'll sense you coming."

"Maybe it'll make him hesitate."

"Not bloody likely. But I like your confidence."

"Rin."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

She gave him an impish grin before following after him and leaving the room. They entered a long hall with several sets of staircases leading to the second floor. This part of the Residence looked far more used than the reception room they had just left. There was more wear on the floor, and the carpets along the main hall and stairs looked as if they had seen years of feet going up and down them. Before they had gone a dozen paces, the first of their many future fights began.

The masked man burst out of a room on their left, charging at them with all the speed and fury of an avalanche. Kaoru recognized him as one of Secundus's four guards. The man still wore his full armor suit, and his claymore, but there was a fury in his eyes that hadn't been there when Kaoru had first seen him, nor was the fury that of a normal human. Kaoru jumped out of the way, falling into a roll and coming back to his feet. Immediately, the man in the armor changed direction with far more fluid grace than he should've possessed. He completely ignored Rinally, who stood close enough to him that his wake actually knocked her back a few steps. The guard swung his claymore at Kaoru with terrifying speed, forcing Kaoru to jump back or be cut in half. There was no way that he could block that weapon without taking significant damage, and he didn't have the time to deal with even shallow wounds.

Not if he wanted to have a fighting chance against Kai.

He reversed his grip on Guardian and threw it from his side, putting as much power behind the move as he could. The Keyblade rotated twice before it impacted the guard's head, snapping it back and flipping the man heels over head. He slammed into the floor, cracking the marble with his weight. Kaoru caught Guardian as it came back to his hand, then charged at the fallen guard. As the man was shoving himself upright, Kaoru leaped, tucked his feet up as high beneath himself as he could, and swung Guardian. It spun him in a quick circle, allowing him two successive hits to the guard's helmet before he landed on his heels upon the guard's chest, driving him back down to the floor as well as driving all the breath out of him.

"Kaoru!" Rin cried. "Get out of there!"

He barely flicked her a glance as he obeyed, leaping away just as the claymore came up with startling speed. It would have shorn him in half if he hadn't gotten out of there as soon as Rin shouted, and instead, it crashed into the floor, breaking even more of the marble. Shards flew toward Kaoru's face, but his Holy Shield materialized around him with a flick of thought, shimmering gold where the shards struck.

Then lightning, bright and golden, struck down from nowhere. Rinally cast two more Thundara spells, followed quickly by a Firaga. The spells struck the guard square in his torso, driving him back down into the floor each time he tried to get up. As soon as the last flames extinguished, Kaoru moved. Even as the guard, battered and burned and obviously wounded to the point he shouldn't even be moving let alone standing, got to his feet, Kaoru fell into a blur of motion. Guardian struck, a thunderclap echoing each time the Keyblade hit the metal of the guard's armor. Cracks appeared as Kaoru added the power of light to his strikes, driving the guard backwards without giving him a chance to recover or counterattack. Guardian crashed into the guard's chest, thighs, shoulders, and even his head once or twice, a flurry of moves that Kaoru didn't remember ever learning. Yet his body moved on its own, and he could almost see what his enemy's next move would be, which allowed him to be one step ahead and avoid being injured himself.

Rin helped where she could, creating ice slicks on the floor that upset the guard's balance, and allowed Kaoru to get even more strikes in. Once, her lightning infused itself upon Guardian, giving the Keyblade a crackling wreath that seared the guard's breaking armor. Another time, her fire limned Guardian in orange and yellow light, and Kaoru used that extra power to add strength to his attacks, shattering even more armor.

Then the claymore came howling in, forcing Kaoru to disengage and leap back out of its range. The guard stood panting, the claymore used more like a crutch now than a weapon. He leaned against it, glaring hate at Kaoru. Kaoru readied Guardian, using the spare time to try and catch his breath. He hadn't been significantly wounded, but he was winded and tired, and he knew that if this fight was prolonged any more, he wouldn't have enough strength left to face Kai and survive it. The guard took a step forward, yanking his claymore out of the floor. Then he took another step.

Kaoru gripped Guardian tight and lifted his arm. He brought it down as hard as he could, releasing Guardian as he did so. Instead of standing there and waiting for the Keyblade to come back to him, he chased it. He ducked under the claymore's swing and got within inches of the guard's chest. His armored hand glittered with prismatic light as he drove it into the man's face. With his other hand, he caught Guardian just after it impacted, and as the guard crumpled, he gripped Guardian with both hands and raised the Keyblade so that the blade itself was pointing downwards. The darkness in the guard's eyes swirled with angry purple light as he glared up at Kaoru, but the young Keyblade wielder was too fast. He drove Guardian down into the man's exposed chest and twisted.

He heard Rin's gasp, but focused on the task before him. He yanked Guardian to the left, then to the right, and twisted the weapon again before ripping it out of the guard's chest. Black ichor sprayed into the air, tiny motes that quickly disappeared almost as fast as they sprayed out. The guard's body crumpled in on itself, and then the armor clattered noisily to the floor, empty.

"Holy crap, Kaoru." Rin breathed as she joined him beside the empty armor. "What the hell did you do?"

"When I saw the guard's eyes, I realized that he was made of nothing but darkness." Kaoru explained. He lifted Guardian, watching as the purple/black substance of the guard's innards slowly smoked as the Keyblade's power forced it to dissipate. "That was how he was so strong. And how he shook off so much damage."

"And why he focused on you." Rin surmised.

"Yeah."

They stared at the empty armor for a minute, then looked at each other. "You know," Rinally started, "for someone so terrified by darkness, Secundus has three more of these guys acting as his bodyguards."

Kaoru pressed his lips together until they were in a flat line. He inhaled deeply, then let the breath out slowly. "It doesn't make any sense."

"No," Rinally agreed, "it doesn't." She crouched, using her staff to poke at the armor and shift it around. "It doesn't look like this was even a human body once. It was animated darkness."

"Is that even possible?"

"It's what the Heartless are. But they have hearts to power them, and your Keyblade releases those hearts. I didn't see a heart appear when you killed this guy. My guess? Magic. And some pretty dark magic at that."

"You think Secundus has access to that kind of stuff?"

"Probably. I mean, think about it. He was able to stage a coup ten years ago, and has since remained in power because he's pretty untouchable. Ioshua's people haven't been able to get at him, except by doing their whole vigilante hero, steal from the rich and give to the poor thing. And, what's more," Rin raised a finger as if to accentuate her point, "he's pissing his pants scared of Kai, and he tried to have you killed when he first laid eyes on you. Kai recognized what you were because he's just as sensitive to darkness as you are to light. I don't doubt Secundus has that same sixth sense too, or some variety of it, especially if he's been dicking around making things like this." She rose, kicking the helmet as she did so.

Kaoru frowned. "So he disagrees with the last Princeps, but doesn't have the power to go against him. He has to get power somehow. Darkness is a pretty tempting power, and once it has roots in your heart, it doesn't let go all that easily. So he figured out a way to harness the darkness and created these things, but in doing so, was almost consumed himself. That's why he's sensitive. Why he's terrified of Kai, and of me."

"That'd be my guess."

"But he only created four."

"Which means that was all he could make, or he got scared. Either way, he's pretty much got Ioshua outnumbered, 'specially if he's a competent magic user. I figure magic isn't a rare occurrence here on Lumina Cross - those kids didn't bat an eye when I healed that old dude - but very few people can use it. Ioshua can, from what I understand, and so can a few other people in his group. But that's it."

"Which means Ioshua and Secundus could be on the same level."

"Could be."

"But then there's Kai."

Rin sighed loudly. "Yeah, there's Kai."

Kaoru looked up toward the next floor's halls, studying what he could see. "If Ioshua and Secundus are on the same level, they're not gonna be able to beat each other. Secundus definitely knows that. Which means those last three goons are going to be gunning for Ioshua and his people."

"Which means Kai's gonna beat him, and us, to the punch." Rin reasoned.

"Yeah."

"You think you can find him in this place?"

Kaoru closed his eyes. He focused all of his energy into concentrating on finding Kai in the giant building. He didn't think it would be hard; as sensitive as he was to darkness, Kai would stand out like a great dane in a room of kittens. He quieted his feelings and anxieties as best he could and focused on the resonance of darkness in response to his questing light. He felt it a moment later as a light flicker of annoyance against his mind. Slowly, Kaoru repositioned himself until the feeling was at its strongest, then opened his eyes and found himself pointed toward the northwest. Then the whole building rumbled, as if affected by thunder. Kaoru shuddered as he felt the whisper of darkness against his mind, and his hand tightened around Guardian's hilt.

"Found him?" Rinally asked.

Kaoru nodded. "You ready?"

"I guess so. It's not like we can get out of this place without doing what we're supposed to."

Kaoru smiled wanly at her, then started for the nearby staircase. He broke into a light jog with Rin right behind him. They headed up the stairs, then turned northwest, and took a nearby hallway. As they ran, they could hear more explosions taking place throughout the Residence, one or two happening so close that the entire building shook and nearly threw them to their knees. Kaoru slammed Guardian's point into the floor and held onto it to keep his balance, ducking his head in the crux of his arms and squeezing his eyes shut against the sudden flash of nausea that made his stomach want to rebel against him. When it passed, Kaoru raised his head and focused down the hall, still able to feel Kai, though it was muted.

"We have to hurry." he said to Rinally.

They took off running down the hall, as fast as their feet could carry them. They flashed past closed doors, huge bay windows that looked out over inner courtyards and the night-covered dome across the city. The building shook with the reports of explosions, and once, they were forced to drop to the ground and cover their heads as the entire opposite side of the Residence blew apart, sending debris raining down against the windows, which then shattered and showered Rin and Kaoru with shards of glass. When Kaoru raised his head to look upon the damage wrought, he was shocked to see that the opposite hallway to theirs was simply gone. The whole hall was bared to the open, a tumbled mess of rocks, metal, and glass.

"The hell was that?" Rin asked, picking herself up. Her head turned and her face paled when she saw the destruction opposite them. "What did _that_?"

Kaoru pushed himself upright and then to his feet. "I don't know. Maybe it was Ioshua's people. It doesn't feel like Kai."

"Or maybe it's Secundus, trying to cut off routes of escape or entry."

"Maybe."

Rin studied Kaoru's face, trying to read his expression and figure out what he was thinking. He looked almost pensive, worried about something she couldn't figure out. There was something he could sense that she couldn't, and she was positive it wasn't Kai, or any sort of darkness. She wanted to ask, but refrained from doing so. She was afraid if she spoke something aloud, then it would definitely come true. Kaoru turned slightly to look at her, offering her a little smile and his hand. She smiled back and took it, feeling as though everything would turn out just fine if she stayed by his side.

They hurried through the hall, turning left and taking a set of stairs upward. The staircase wound three times before depositing them in a short hall that had two doors on the left and two doors on the right, and a great set of doors at the end of the hall. Those two doors were decorated with intricate carvings and gold leaf, and hung open as if they had been ripped off their hinges by a great force. Kaoru gripped Guardian tighter and started down the hall to the broken doors. Rinally was right behind him.

They stopped in the threshold and stared at the scene before them.

Kai crouched in the center of the room, black tendrils curling around his body as if they were living weapons. Kaoru couldn't see his face, but he was certain that the redhead's eyes were black and gold, just like a Heartless's were. At the head of the room stood Secundus with two of his constructs. They looked worse for the wear, with dented armor and scorch marks. The third construct lay in a heap of metal closer to Kaoru and Rinally, crushed into a pile of scrap by power Kaoru couldn't even begin to imagine. He shivered as he realized that the darkness that animated the armor was still in there, but unable to act because of the way it had been pulverized. There was another door on the left wall, and this one had been blasted open as well. But the doors seemed to have been torn open by a blast rather than any power, and the cause of that blast seemed to be Ioshua, who stood back in the hall with a hand over his face. Beside him crouched two other people, their faces also covered to keep from being struck by debris. When they lowered their hands, they rose from their crouches, took their weapons to hand and started into the room.

Secundus saw them at the same time Kai did. Before Kai could do anything to stop them from entering the room, Secundus lifted a hand and the construct on the right suddenly lunged forward. It was fast, far too fast for Kai to intercept, and the two people - one being the woman that had been with Ioshua before - suddenly found themselves in retreat. It was too late, though. The construct slammed into the both of them in a clothesline action, sending them careening back into the hall, where they struck the opposite wall. They slid to the ground and were still. Ioshua let out a bellow of tremendous rage, raised his hand, and Kaoru saw Rin shiver as spears of ice about as long as Kaoru's arm and three times as thick formed in the air around Ioshua's outstretched arm. Those spears launched toward the construct, striking the monster in the abdomen, chest, and shoulder.

Kaoru was pretty sure Ioshua had been aiming for the construct's head.

He looked at Rin. "Go help them."

She looked at him as if he was crazy. "Fine, but don't go doing anything stupid."

Kaoru grinned at her, earning a glare in response. They rushed into the room together, though about two steps in, Rinally changed direction to rush toward Ioshua, who seemed shocked to see the both of them there. He said something to Rin that Kaoru couldn't hear, then turned with her to tend to his fallen comrades. Kaoru slid to a stop beside Kai, Guardian held in a two-handed grip.

"I told you to stay away." Kai growled. He struggled to his feet, the darkness swirling around him in tiny tendrils that shied away from Kaoru if they got close.

"Did you really think I'd listen to you?" Kaoru responded. Kai only growled, but apparently decided Kaoru wasn't worth dealing with at the moment. He focused on Secundus, the tendrils of darkness around him stilling as their master put all of his attention on his target.

Kaoru settled his stance, gripping Guardian tighter. He wouldn't allow Kai to kill Secundus, but neither could he allow Secundus to kill Kai or anyone else. Behind him, he heard Rinally talking in soft tones to someone, though whether that someone was Ioshua or one of her patients, he didn't know. He didn't dare look, for fear that Secundus might choose that moment to attack, or that Kai might surprise him and knock him out of the fight before he even had a chance to start.

Secundus focused on Kaoru's Keyblade first, then the boy himself. His lips twisted cruelly and displayed straight, too-white teeth. "I thought so. I knew when I first laid eyes upon you, boy. The only person who could break through the barrier around this world would be a Keyblade Master."

"I'm not a master." Kaoru responded. "I was sent here because this world needed me."

Secundus's eyes narrowed. "Needed you? HA! What this world needs is structure! Order! I've provided that! I made those who couldn't obey the laws obey them! They work so that they cannot cause trouble! Their strength provides those who _do_ obey the laws a life of luxury!"

"That's not a world anyone needs!" Kaoru shot back. "You're killing people!"

"That's life. People die all the time. What do you think you can do, brat? Save their lives if you take me down?"

"That's exactly what I think will happen. At least they can live and die on their own terms rather than yours."

Secundus barked out a laugh, cold and cruel. "You really believe that? There's always someone who is working their fingers to the bone for the benefit of someone else. At least this way, there's a clear line dividing the two."

"They follow you because you terrify them, Secundus." boomed Ioshua's voice. He stood over the corpse of the construct, a faint blue glow around his left arm, which now danced with tiny runes. "You don't belong on the throne of Lumina Cross. You aren't a leader."

Secundus's lips twisted even more. "I _am_ a leader! I'm more of a leader than your father ever was! I _saved_ this world from him! He wanted to open it to _everyone_ , to let in hundreds of people who would bring down everything _I_ strived to create!"

"My father wanted to make a prosperous world, which welcomed all! He wanted to open Lumina Cross to allow the expansion of our resources, to allow people to learn that there were other worlds out there than ours, to learn that there was no need to fear the darkness! That they could move beyond the dome that protects our city from the sun out there, that they could find other places where they might belong! _You_ destroyed all that the night you killed him, my mother, and everyone else!"

Kaoru shivered and lowered Guardian just a fraction. He glanced at Kai; even he looked shocked by Ioshua's words, his gold eyes wide as he regarded the older man. They turned back to Secundus as the man began to laugh, a bitter, high-pitched cackle that meant he was too far gone to see reason. Perhaps he had never been able to see reason in the first place, Kaoru surmised, considering his past actions. Secundus never said another word after his laughter died; he only looked at Ioshua and grinned.

The last construct launched past Kaoru and Kai so fast that neither really realized it had moved until it was past. At the same time, Secundus lifted a hand, and a tendril of pure inky black, about as thick around as a lamp-post, slithered out of his coat sleeve to wrap around his wrist, then his hand, and take the shape of a whip. He snapped it, sending the tip shooting for Kai.

Kaoru was there instantly, swinging Guardian hard enough to knock the whip out of the air and pin it to the ground. He didn't hesitate, pushing off before Secundus could recover and charging the man. Secundus let out a shriek and swung his right hand toward Kaoru's face, forcing him to use Guardian to keep the slender, silver blade Secundus wielded from cutting his throat. They struggled against each other for a minute, and Kaoru was finally pushed back. He landed in a crouch, Guardian sparking on the floor as he skidded backwards. Kai launched forward then, the tendrils surrounding him acting like a shield against that flailing whip. He had no other weapon in hand except for those tendrils, but it didn't seem to matter. Secundus was forced into retreating as Kai's tendrils whipped at him. Then that silver sword came across between them, and Kai jumped back as that blade cut through several of the tendrils of darkness that then fell to the ground, writhing, before they broke into tiny motes before disappearing.

"You can't hurt me, boy!" Secundus screamed at Kai. "I know what you are! You're a monster! A demon born of nothing but darkness! You are everything I'm trying to save this world from!"

Kai let out an inhuman snarl. "You killed my parents! You forced them to work in the mines so that you could have power! I never saw them again once they went down there! _You_ made me this way!"

He attacked Secundus then, faster than before. He nearly seemed to blink in and out of existence, attacking from every angle he could. Despite Kai's attempts, Secundus seemed to be able to defend himself each and every time. Kaoru couldn't see an opportunity to help Kai without getting in the way. He knew that Kai wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he did, and he couldn't allow Kai's attention to be divided. Secundus would kill them both if he did that. Kaoru looked toward Ioshua, where he struggled against the construct. Then a Firaga spell launched into the construct, knocking it away from Ioshua and allowing him to recover.

Rinally sprinted across the hall, spinning away from an attack by the construct with a dancer's grace, and joining Ioshua, where she quickly healed the bleeding wound in his side. She looked at Kaoru, nodded, and readied her staff as the construct righted itself, turned, and attacked again.

 _Trust her. She knows what she's doing. You have to help Kai._ Kaoru nodded back at her, then turned and found Kai struggling against Secundus's sword, which threatened to break through the tendrils of darkness that had solidified into a shield to protect his neck and torso.

Guardian whistled through the air, rotating twice before hitting Secundus and sending him flying away from Kai. Kaoru caught the Keyblade as it returned to his hand, already charging forward. He leaped over the whip as it cracked at his feet, and struck for Secundus's side. The man snarled and got his sword in between them to block Guardian, but the attack took his attention away from Kai for a minute. That allowed the redhead to recover, and then he immediately launched into an attack.

Kaoru winced against the strength of the darkness beside him, feeling it as an intense heat against his skin. The prismatic light in his armor seemed to dim each time Kai got close to him, and the silver and gold it was made of seemed to tarnish the longer it was exposed to Kai's darkness. Despite that, Kaoru continued to fight along side him, firmly believing that he needed to be there, needed to be right beside Kai no matter what, to both help and protect him from both himself and from Secundus.

Secundus was fast - thought not as fast as Kai - and he was strong. Kaoru was forced to fight on the defensive while Kai took offense, but even though it was two on one, Secundus still somehow managed to defend himself from both Kai's powers of darkness and Kaoru's Keyblade. Between his own ability with darkness and that silver sword, he seemed a perfect counterbalance to Kai and Kaoru. For every step Kaoru and Kai seemingly gained, Secundus never seemed to notice, his teeth bared in a feral smile. They weren't able to break his defense, weren't able to wound him, and Kaoru couldn't get around Kai to try and separate him and Secundus. He knew he needed to - Kai was using too much of his strength and would be useless later on in the fight if allowed to continue on like this - but he couldn't find an opportunity. He was getting tired too; his arms ached from deflecting blows and trying to create openings in Secundus's defense.

A glance at Ioshua and Rinally told him that they were doing as well as they could be doing against the construct. Rinally's spells of healing kept Ioshua from suffering any serious wounds, and Ioshua's magic seemed to actually be doing more damage to the construct than it was doing to him. He had ripped the armor off of one of the construct's arms, leaving a gaping wound in the darkness that made up the monster's body. The construct lurched at him, raising its massive claymore for an attack that would cut the man in two. Ioshua lifted his arm, the air scintillating with prismatic colors as he summoned forth a blade of pure crystal. He flashed the blade - _snicker-snack_ \- and the construct's arm holding the blade detached from the trunk of the body and crashed to floor in a cacophony of sound and black motes. Ioshua quickly pivoted, turning his crystal sword backwards as he did so, performing a back-thrust that pierced the construct's armor in the stomach. He yanked upward on the blade, then thrust his arms out to the side to tear the crystalline sword out of the construct's body.

Then Kaoru looked back at Secundus and Kai, and saw that Kai had gained some ground. Secundus had retreated toward the far back wall of the chamber and Kai had pursued him. For the first time, Kaoru noticed that their forms of darkness were different colors. Kai's darkness glowed from within with bright hues of purple, violet, and midnight blue. It was, for the moment, pure. But Kai could also see some other colors forming within Kai's darkness, colors of an evil nature. They were steadily growing, pulsing with Kai's hate and his desire to kill. Secundus's darkness, in contrast, glowed with sickly colors of green and depthless black. It was a corrupted sort of darkness, already too far gone to be saved. As the two different incarnations of darkness clashed, Kaoru could acutely feel how much more corrupt Kai's became and how much stronger Secundus's became. If he didn't interfere soon, then Kai would either be consumed by his hate and killed by Secundus, or Kai would kill Secundus, and be beyond saving.

Gathering his strength, Kaoru gripped Guardian in both hands and started moving toward Kai and Secundus, trying to figure out exactly what he was going to do when he reached them. When Secundus grabbed Kai's throat in a tight grip and lifted him off his feet, Kaoru stopped thinking so hard. It was obvious what he needed to do.

He attacked with speed given to him by his affinity with the light. Guardian howled in so fast that Secundus couldn't avoid it, even though he tried to by releasing Kai. The Keyblade struck Secundus's arm, shattering bone with a sickening crunch. Secundus screamed shrilly and yanked his broken arm to his chest, retreating even as Kaoru came on, forcing the mad dictator away from Kai. Guardian scored damaging hits on the darkness Secundus tried to use to shield himself, cutting off pieces here and there and turning them into motes that dissipated soon after. Kaoru performed a roundhouse kick that caught Secundus in the chest, driving him off his feet and to the floor. The man rolled once, twice, and fetched up hard against another wall.

He didn't move.

Kaoru quickly returned to Kai's side, kneeling down. His hand, so gently laid upon Kai's shoulder, was slapped callously away. Heartless eyes glared up at him. Kaoru just stared coolly back.

"I thought I told you to stay out of this." Kai growled.

"I thought I told you I wasn't going to listen to you." Kaoru replied, his tone even.

"I almost had him. I would have, if you hadn't come."

"If I hadn't come, you'd be dead."

"Tch." Kai surged to his feet, wobbled, and shoved Kaoru away when he tried to help him. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Kaoru stepped in front of Kai, acting as a living wall between him and his prey. Those golden eyes sparked with violence, but Kaoru refused to move. "Kai, if you keep going on like this, you will either die, or you'll become just as corrupted as he is. I understand that you want revenge. He took everything away from you. It's normal to want him to pay. But you have to be a bigger person than he is. You have to stop wanting revenge."

"I don't care about any of that! I'm going to make sure he pays the debt he owes me, Kaoru."

"Killing him isn't the answer to that." Kaoru reached out, gripping the taller boy's shoulder with his armored hand. "Your darkness isn't the weapon for that. Do you know how beautiful and clean and pure your darkness is? I can see it surrounding you. There are so many rich colors there, but they're being eaten away by the hatred festering inside of you. You can't let go of that purity, Kai. You can't."

Kai looked at Kaoru's armored hand. For a minute, Kaoru thought he was going to grab it and twist in an attempt to break bone. Then those golden eyes flicked to Kaoru's face, and a look of pure consternation came across Kai's features. Knowing that if he stopped now, Kai might slip backwards, Kaoru quickly continued to speak. "Darkness isn't something to be feared, you know? It's just the other side of the light, the other side of the same coin. Everyone touts the light to be this great presence that can do no wrong, but that's not true. It can be abused just like darkness can. People fear the dark only because they don't know what lies within it. They don't know that the darkness is there to protect them just as much as the light is. Why do you think the sun sets every day? So that darkness can come over the world and cool it, to allow the creatures who are only active at night to come out and thrive. If darkness is so terrible, why does the world allow it to have so much time to itself? Wouldn't the sun just stay out and shine all the time if the darkness was that bad? Wherever there's a light, there's always a shadow, you know? The darkness is light's sanctuary, Kai."

The black bled away from the whites of Kai's eyes, and the golden irises began to slowly become green. He blinked at Kaoru and started to say something. Then his eyes flicked beyond Kaoru's shoulder and went wide.

Kaoru felt it as a searing heat before it hit, and barely managed to get a Holy Shield around both him and Kai. It still slammed them violently into the wall, and then _through_ it.

The last thing Kaoru remembered seeing was the ground rushing up to meet them.


	28. Chapter 28

Twenty-Seven - Lumina Cross

Kai wrapped his arms around Kaoru's limp form and focused all his energy on slowing their freefall toward the courtyard below. He felt the darkness surge in him, answering his call and command as readily as it always had. A violet glow suffused the air around them, pushing out on all sides until it formed a translucent sphere about five feet out from their bodies. The sphere touched the ground first, cushioning their impact. Kai remained suspended in the air for a minute, then the sphere broke and he landed on his feet. He immediately went to his knees, still holding tight to Kaoru.

Kai looked up toward the hole in the wall that they had been forced out of, letting out a soft breath of surprise they had survived the attack and the fall. Kai remembered a glimmer of golden light surrounding them, but as soon as Kaoru passed out, that golden shield had vanished. He looked down at Kaoru's face. Unconscious, he looked small and frail. He didn't look for one minute that he could wield a Keyblade, being so wire thin. Kai lifted a hand and brushed a stray strand of blonde hair away from Kaoru's closed eyes, wincing as he felt a spark pass between his fingers and Kaoru's skin. It was the same sort of feeling Kai had had when he'd first laid eyes on Kaoru, and when he'd first touched Kaoru. Just from that little bit of contact alone, Kai had somehow known that if he had just asked, Kaoru would help him. The Light's vaunted warrior, aiding a being steeped in darkness. It was laughable.

But Kaoru hadn't been what Kai had expected him to be.

Kaoru had been steadfast in his conviction, a constant presence by Kai's side whether Kai wanted it or not. He had been there not only to stop Kai from making a huge mistake, but to protect Kai as well.

"I didn't expect the little Keyblade brat to be that powerful." Secundus's words broke through Kai's reverie, making his shoulders tense and his heart pound. "I can't believe he managed to stop it."

The world tipped from technicolor to monochrome for Kai, bright flashes of color coming only from the bright glows of hearts. Kai turned his gaze from Kaoru - who, glowing bright with the protection of his Keyblade, actually hurt Kai's eyes - and focused on Secundus.

The man floated maybe a foot or so off the ground. Eight black tendrils grew out of his back on either side of his shoulders in mockery of wings, hanging limply down like thick willow tree branches. Every now and then the tendrils twitched as if they were alive. Secundus's skin was a pallid white in Kai's vision, with cracks around his eyes that showed deep, sickly black. And his eyes themselves were just deep, dark, black pits of nothingness with a sickly purple glow. Kai held Kaoru closer, absolutely certain that he didn't want Secundus to touch him.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, oddly enough, teased the thought that holding Kaoru so close didn't actually hurt anymore.

"The light is only as powerful as the person who believes in it is." Kai replied, his voice as soft as thunder.

Secundus's brow rose. "You don't still believe that drivel, do you, Kai? Look at you. A being of pure darkness, steeped in hatred and suffering. I can see it now, what you really look like. I guess I have that brat to thank, introducing me to these new powers of mine."

"Kaoru didn't do anything except keep me from making the biggest mistake of my life."

"By doing what? Killing me? Giving in to the rage and hate that makes you so strong with the darkness? You can't defeat me otherwise."

"Yes, I can. I can defeat you with my own darkness." Kai wasn't sure if Rinally and Ioshua would be coming out soon, but if he wanted to fight Secundus, then he would have to let Kaoru go. That would mean Kaoru would be vulnerable.

"Your own darkness? Don't make me laugh, boy." As if to accentuate his statement, Secundus really did throw back his head and laugh. "There is no such thing as _personal_ darkness. There only _is_ darkness. Just like there is only light. You either have one or the other. I can see that little Keyblade brat is chock full of light. That's how he survived, isn't it? His light was strong enough to beat back my darkness. Well. I won't make that mistake again."

Kai snarled. "Don't you dare touch him."

"And what are you going to do? Protect him? The darkness fears the light! It runs from it, it fights it, destroys it if it's capable! You said yourself you'd kill him if he interfered, so do it! Rid us of that Keyblade and that light. You'd be doing the world a favor."

Kai bared his teeth and pulled Kaoru closer to him. "You're wrong. Darkness can't exist without light. Darkness doesn't fear the light; it's light's closest companion. Everywhere light is, so is darkness." _Darkness is light's sanctuary._ That's what Kaoru had said.

"Is that what he told you?" Secundus pointed at Kaoru. The tendrils that cascaded from his back twitched with violent motion. "He's going to tell you anything he can to get you to keep from embracing your true self. Just being near him pains you, doesn't it? All you have to do is give him to me. I can end your pain."

"Don't _touch_ him." Kai snarled.

Secundus's face twisted and became ugly with rage. "You're more like me than you want to admit, Kai. Protect that boy all you want, but you won't be able to defeat me. Not now. I'll kill you both!"

Kai pulled Kaoru up further into his arms and leaped away as Secundus attacked, those tendrils whipping out toward the spot where they had once been. The tendrils crushed the stone into pebbles, then shot toward Kai with lightning speed. With his burden, it was all Kai could do to dodge, narrowly avoiding being struck by those tendrils. He knew that he couldn't run. He had brought himself to this entire moment with the intention to kill Secundus, so he couldn't give up now. And, despite everything Kaoru had told him, Kai still _wanted_ to kill Secundus, to avenge his parents and the countless other people that had suffered under the Princep's hands. At the same time, he also knew that if he didn't defeat Secundus now, then the man would be free to destroy Lumina Cross and anyone else who decided to oppose him. Kai set Kaoru gently down against the wall of the Residence, staring at the blonde's face. Even unconscious, Kaoru still glowed gently with light. Kai decided he was going to protect it with everything he could give.

Kai pushed away from the wall and Kaoru, spinning to charge straight for Secundus. He didn't have a weapon, like Secundus did, or a Keyblade, like Kaoru did, but he was far from helpless. He dodged away from the tendrils as they rocketed toward him, his own darkness rising from his skin to form a shield that deflected the closer tendrils away from him. At the last second, Kai changed directions, getting around behind his enemy before dancing backwards, a great cloud of darkness growing around him. Secundus burst out laughing and chased after him, apparently deciding that dealing with Kai first was more beneficial to him. Kai allowed himself a smirk, continuing to retreat until Secundus was far enough away from Kaoru. Then Kai attacked.

His first attack was an exploratory one, weak for all of its speed. He wanted to see what Secundus's defenses were like, where the weakness in those defenses were, and how hard he would have to hit those defenses to break through. The glittering violet spears of darkness that had formed from the cloud surrounding Kai were batted away by Secundus's tendrils as if they were annoying gnats. Then those tendrils sped toward Kai with the intent to gore him. Kai dodged low, rolling to the side to escape those tendrils. The ground erupted as they impacted, sending up a cloud of dust and debris. Kai charged forward while those tendrils were working themselves out of the ground and attacked Secundus as soon as he was close enough. His fist found Secundus's mouth and snapped his head back. Before Secundus could recover, Kai dropped low and swept the man's feet out from under him, then took a handful of the darkness that surrounded him and stabbed down with it.

He missed Secundus only because the man suddenly shifted and thrust his hands toward Kai's chest. The fierce explosion of darkness between them sent Kai flying away from Secundus. Kai landed on his back, rolled heels over head, and came to rest on his stomach. He spat out a glob of blood and pushed himself up to his knees. As he gained his feet, so did Secundus, the man's lips split in a leering grin.

"Do you really think you can beat me?" Secundus said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I know I can." Kai replied. He straightened, holding his left hand out behind him. His fingers curled as if over a hilt, and he hunched his body slightly, making his center of gravity lower to the ground to add more speed to his attack. His foray had shown him just how vulnerable Secundus actually was. Now he just had to exploit it.

Secundus held out his hand and made a 'come here' gesture. "I'll give you one more shot, boy. Then I'll put you down. But I won't kill you right away. I want you alive so you can see me destroy the little Keyblade brat and Ioshua."

For once, Kai forced his anger down into a tiny little sphere in the center of his soul. He refused to let his anger control him this time. He refused to let his hate for Secundus control him this time. He found himself in the calmest state he'd ever found himself in, and Kai could see the strands of foul darkness that were attached to Secundus's body. He had never been able to see darkness before, least of all from another person. He could see the sickly strands of deep green and thick purple that pulsed outward from the man's soul, taking physical form in the shape of those tendrils. There was a sort of clarity to the world that Kai had now had that he didn't have before. He ruled the darkness; it no longer ruled him.

He pushed off with his left foot, rushing toward Secundus faster than he'd even run before. The man was ready for him, though, and those tendrils lashed toward him lightning fast, one after the other. Kai dodged and rolled and ducked and danced through the assault, his left arm moving as if it wielded a blade rather than just a solid cloud of blackness. He felt resistance when he slashed across a tendril with his own weapon, and then he sliced clean through it, making Secundus howl in rage and pain. Kai continued on, cutting through another tendril and slicing a third. And then he was before Secundus, within the man's guard. Kai met Secundus's eyes and thrust his darkness toward the man's chest.

Their two darknesses clashed with thunderous noise. Both were thrown back from each other, crashing into the ground where they lay stunned for a time. Secundus recovered first, letting out a terrible bellow as he attacked Kai with his remaining tendrils and a blast of darkness that was filled with terror, hate, and rage. Kai threw up a hand to try and block the tendrils and raging darkness with a shield of his own, but at best he only managed to deflect the tendrils. The darkness hit him full on, bypassing his shield as if it didn't exist and striking his body with tempest force. He felt his body lifted up by that power and slammed back down, and Kai let out a shrill scream as he felt Secundus's darkness trying to consume his own.

A bright light, shimmering with prismatic colors, appeared in Kai's peripheral vision then. Secundus threw up his arms to shield his eyes, yelling. Before the light, the darkness retreated, leaving Kai panting on the ground. His pain lasted only for a moment, for the light filled him with strength that chased away the hurt that Secundus had inflicted. As the light grew stronger, so too did Kai's darkness grow stronger in response. Kai pushed himself upright, then grasped the hand that was offered to him.

Kaoru looked up at him with a bright smile. Kai's lips twitched into a smile in return. "Took you long enough." Kai said.

Kaoru shrugged, though he didn't look too apologetic. "Sorry. I would've been here to back you up sooner, except for the fact I was unconscious."

"Shut up and help me."

Kaoru shrugged and fell into stance, Guardian appearing in his hands. Kai assumed his stance as well, his left hand once more gripping onto that invisible hilt. Secundus glared at both of them, his face twisted and broken in a mask of rage. The man shrieked, his body undulating and growing as the darkness inside him suddenly began to push its way out, pulsing with a sickly pallor. Kaoru rushed forward, intending not to let Secundus finish his transformation. Kai was right behind him. Secundus raised a bulbous, darkness-infested arm and swung it toward them. Kaoru ducked under it while Kai went over it, and they continued their forward momentum. Kaoru struck with Guardian, the Keyblade cutting deep into the darkness that was pulsing around Secundus's body. Kai attacked as well, his left arm flashing back and forth lightning quick.

Secundus roared in pain and lashed out at the boys, sending them backwards with a powerful blow. Kai hit the ground and somehow managed to stay upright, cursing softly under his breath. Kaoru wasn't so lucky. He hit the ground and his legs gave out from under him, throwing him to the ground. He lost his grip on Guardian as he did so, and the Keyblade vanished in a starburst of light. The monster that was Secundus focused on the fallen boy and bellowed, raising its arms for an attack that would squash Kaoru into a messy puddle. Kaoru looked up, watching those hammer-like arms come toward him faster than he could dodge.

Then Kai was there, holding up his hands, the fingers of his right hand splayed, the fingers of his left hand clamped around something, as if that would shield him and Kaoru.

Kaoru heard Rinally cry out, but she wouldn't be able to reach them in time, no matter how hard she tried.

Kai let out a shout, just a wordless cry of defiance. The darkness swirled around him and Kaoru, sparking here and there with a white and violet hue. The dome of darkness with tints of light swirled closed around them at the last second, and when those sledgehammer fists hit the shield, the tremor cracked the stone beneath their feet and Kai winced from the pain of the blow. But the shield held. Then Kai swept his left hand down and away, and the darkness solidified in his hand, a myriad of colors. And from them formed a beautiful Keyblade, its blade deep black with violet veining, about three feet long and ending in a hooked blade. The guard was shaped like wings half-unfolded for flight, and had upon them glittering white gemstones, like a reflection of light deep within the darkness. He held the weapon in a reverse grip, with the blade pointing behind him.

Kaoru shoved himself to his feet and called upon Guardian, the gold and white Keyblade materializing in his hand. As if in response to the presence of Guardian, Kai's Keyblade began to emit a diffuse violet glow. Kai glanced at him, his eyes now a warm emerald green rather than the Heartless black and gold they were before. On Kai's left shoulder and forearm rested armor much akin to Kaoru's, only being black and violet instead of gold and white. Both pieces still seemed to glow with a light all their own.

Then they focused on the monster Secundus had become, tightened their grips on their Keyblades, and rushed into battle, darkness and light, side by side.


	29. Chapter 29

Twenty-Eight - Lumina Cross

 _Its name is Sanctuary. Born of the power of your heart and the strength of your will. It is your darkness and your desire to protect your light._

Kai slammed Sanctuary into Secundus's bulbous thigh and drove the hooked point of the Keyblade into the blackened flesh. It stuck and pulled as Kai tore Sanctuary free, taking with it a good chunk of darkness. On the other side, Guardian caused just as much damage, Kaoru spinning away as Secundus retaliated against him. The smaller boy was faster, more agile than Kai was, but Kai had more physical power behind his strikes. While Kaoru drew Secundus's attention away from Kai, Kai flew into a flurry of attacks, Sanctuary biting deep into the corrupted darkness and ripping it away from Secundus's body, where it disappeared in tiny motes.

Kai dodged away from a pounding strike from a hammer fist, jumping into the air at the last second to avoid being squashed. Below, Kaoru harried Secundus's ankles, chipping off pieces of darkness. Kai landed and charged forward, his reversed grip on his Keyblade allowing him to throw his body into a spin that added power to his strikes. He hit three successive times, rising in the air with each hit. Sanctuary tore holes in Secundus's arm from wrist to elbow, making the monster roar in pain and try to swat Kai away. He dropped to the ground, rolled, got back to his feet and charged again at the same time Kaoru launched into a series of attacks, Guardian flashing from his hand toward Secundus's face in quick succession. The lightning fast attacks distracted Secundus enough for Kai to launch into an attack of his own. Sanctuary bit into the muscle and tendons of Secundus's left leg, doing its best to sever them and bring the monster down to an even more manageable level.

Kaoru was forced to retreat, leaving Kai on his own. The redhead disengaged soon after him, managing to avoid being caught by a massive hand that would have squeezed the life out of him. The two Keyblade wielders joined back up, panting softly. Secundus howled and glared at them, struggling to rise even on his injured leg. A massive hand rushed toward them.

A bolt of bright lightning hit the palm of that hand, burning it into a lump of blackened meat. Secundus screamed and pulled his hand back, clutching his wrist and reeling from the pain. Kaoru and Kai turned to see Rinally standing behind them, her eyes narrowed and her staff held up, still slightly smoking from where the Thundara spell had originated. She marched up to Kaoru and caught him in a headlock, running her knuckles roughly over his hair.

"I can't believe you! Leaving me behind like that! What were you thinking?!" Rinally finally released him and then pulled Kaoru into a tight hug. "When you got blasted out that wall, I thought you were dead! I hate you so much right now!"

"Sorry." Kaoru said, his words muffled by her shoulder. "I'll make it up to you somehow."

Rin pushed back from him, nodded, then whirled on Kai. She poked her finger in his chest. "And you! The hell were you thinking, rushing off and taking on that jerk by yourself?"

Kai narrowed his eyes at Rin. "What, I don't get a hug?"

"I don't know you well enough."

Kaoru laughed, despite the seriousness of Rinally's anger. He sobered into an amused little grin when she glowered at him. Kai lifted Sanctuary, allowing Rin to see the Keyblade. Her eyes widened a little and she looked at Kaoru in question.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Ask him."

Kai smiled at Rinally. "I'm the darkness to Kaoru's light. Were you really expecting anything different?"

Rin put her hands on her hips. "I guess not, considering how touchy-feely you were with Kaoru."

"What's that supposed to-"

Secundus's bellow interrupted Kai and made all three of them focus on their enemy. While he hadn't recovered from any of his wounds, the monster that used to be Secundus didn't seem to be ready to keel over any time soon. Rin gripped her staff and took two steps back from her friends.

"Go." she whispered.

Kaoru nodded. He glanced at Kai, tilted his head, then took off at a flat run toward Secundus. Guardian flashed as he cut left and right with the weapon, tearing off more bits of darkness, before he spun around to Secundus's back and drew his attention away from Kai, who attacked with a flurry of moves that opened up deep cuts in both flesh and darkness alike. Harried on both sides by the Keyblade wielders and attacked by Rinally's spells, Secundus was in a vulnerable position. Each time he turned to attack one of the boys, the other would dart in and attack, and if he managed to corner both of them, then Rinally would unleash a flurry of spells that allowed Kaoru and Kai to reposition themselves for a new assault.

Still, for all the damage they inflicted, Secundus still didn't seem like he was going to keel over any time soon. And as fast as they moved, and as fast as they came to each other's aid, and as fast as they dodged away from attacks that would kill them, they were still gaining injuries and growing exhausted. Kaoru even used Cascade twice, but beyond tearing away more darkness and managing to shrink Secundus's size, the powerful attack didn't do much. Rinally's soothing healing magic took away most of his exhaustion and pain after the two attacks, but he still didn't have much power left to do anything more than attack and give Kai as many openings as possible.

As exhausted as Kai seemed, he didn't look to be as exhausted as Kaoru. Perhaps it was because Kai was an embodiment of darkness fighting an embodiment of darkness, and the two forces, while the same on one level, were inherently different. Perhaps it was because he was determined to see Secundus dead. Whatever the answer truly was, it seemed like their victory hinged on Kai's ability to bring down their enemy. Kaoru and Rin tried to give him as much help as they could, and Kai attacked with incredible speed and strength, ripping pieces out of Secundus. Then Secundus seemed to rally himself, and his blows suddenly became faster and came harder. Kaoru was flung backwards by a closed-fisted punch, blocked only by a Holy Shield that he managed to get around him in time. He still hit the ground on his back, bouncing because of the shield, which broke and allowed him to skid across the ground. Rinally rushed to his side, helping him sit up as she tried to heal his wounds.

He winced as her magic brushed a slice in his arm, healing the rent flesh back to the state it had been before he'd gotten injured. Kaoru looked up as a shadow fell over them, grabbing Guardian and bringing it up to fight the newest threat. Only it was Ioshua, panting roughly, looking hurt and tired himself. His eyes were riveted on Kai, watching the redhead dodge around attacks that would flatten him if they connected. There was a sort of pride in Ioshua's eyes as he watched Kai, but there was also worry as well. Kaoru wondered if the worry was there because Ioshua was finally seeing what Kai really was, or if the worry was for Kai himself. Still, the man didn't move to interfere, rather staying close to Kaoru and Rin. Kaoru looked at Rinally, nodded, and she helped him get to his feet.

"He can't hold out like that forever." Ioshua said quietly. Kai was moving with incredible speed and agility, his blows raining hard upon Secundus, but it was obvious that he was starting to slow down.

Kaoru readjusted his grip on Guardian. "We can beat him. We just have to find his weak spot."

"I don't think he has a weak spot." Rinally muttered.

"Do you remember that trick we used on Ratcliffe?" Kaoru asked her. Rin blinked, then nodded and gripped her staff tighter. "Think we can do it again?"

"Probably. This space is a lot more enclosed than the field there. There might be collateral damage."

"There aren't any people around here anymore." Ioshua interrupted. "Do what you need to do to help Kai. Secundus _has_ to fall. If you don't do it soon, you'll lose your chance."

Kaoru nodded and started forward at a slow walk before he began to pick up speed. As Secundus turned to face the new threat, Kai launched into a series of harsh blows that forced Secundus to turn back to him. By then, Kaoru had reached the monster and flew into an attack of his own, slamming Guardian as hard as he could into Secundus's legs and sides, sending motes of darkness into the air as his light warred with the darkness corrupting Secundus's body. He dodged a strike that would have bowled him over and skidded to a halt beside Kai.

"You okay?" Kai asked, his eyes focusing on Kaoru for the briefest of instants.

"Yeah. You?"

"I'm still alive."

"I've got an idea." Kaoru quickly explained what he intended to do, with Rinally's help. Kai looked at him, skeptical. "Do you think you can finish him off if we do that?"

An eyebrow rose on Kai's face, but he nodded. "I'm pretty sure I've got something up my sleeve."

They separated quickly before they both were squashed by a darkness-infested fist. Kaoru threw Guardian in a quick succession of strikes while Kai attacked with four solid blows that upset Secundus's balance and nearly made the monster topple over onto its back. The two tandem attacks allowed the two Keyblade wielders precious few seconds to get into position for what would be their final salvo in the fight. If they didn't end it now, they weren't going to come out of the fight alive.

Kaoru ran toward Secundus while the monster listed, trying to regain its balance. At the last second, he leaped from the ground, landed on the monster's thigh and rebounded off and up. At the same time, he threw Guardian up into the air, focusing his will into the weapon. As Guardian reached its apex, Rinally's Thundaga spell impacted, making the Keyblade glow white hot. Then the Keyblade burst into the prismatic rain of Cascade, which fell in sparkling, electrified sheets upon the transformed Secundus. The monster screamed in pain from both the touch of light and lightning, thrashing on the ground under the assault. The supercharged Cascade didn't last long; Kaoru was too tired to keep the spell going as long as he had before. This final attack also put him out of the fight, placing their only chance at victory squarely on Kai's shoulders. Kaoru landed and collapsed to his knees, panting. He somehow managed to keep his head up, though, focusing on Kai.

The power of Cascade didn't seem to be more than a slight irritant to Kai. His Sanctuary Keyblade actually gave off small sparks of purple lightning when a mote of Cascade touched it, and the weapon itself seemed to take on a slight haze around it. Kai's eyes had shifted from emerald green to Heartless black and gold, and his armor seemed to absorb the light from Cascade when it touched down. He adjusted his grip on Sanctuary, swinging his left arm out wide. At the same time Kai began to run forward, he threw Sanctuary like one threw a frisbee or a boomerang. The Keyblade took on a deep violet glow that began to solidify itself into a swirling chakram of darkness, spoked with curved blades as it rotated.

Then Kai disappeared from sight.

Sanctuary impacted Secundus on the shoulder and sliced its way through on a full rotation. Kai appeared as if out of nowhere behind Secundus, caught his Keyblade, and flung it again. Once more, Kai disappeared from sight only to reappear to catch Sanctuary and throw it for a third time. Five more times he did this, all from different angles. Each time Sanctuary sliced through Secundus, a spray of darkness speared the air and the darkness attached to Secundus's body sloughed off to vanish into motes. On the last attack, Kai grabbed Sanctuary's hilt and allowed the momentum of the whirling Keyblade to take him back a little further up in the air. Kai's lips moved, but Kaoru couldn't hear what the redhead was saying. Still, a finger of frigid cold swiped down Kaoru's spine and he visibly shivered as Kai flashed out of existence.

He reappeared above and behind Secundus's head, his eyes aglow with power. Sanctuary crashed down into the monster's head, but there was no sound of solid impact. Instead, the Keyblade seemed to waver and then went _through_ Secundus's head before emerging out the other side. Kai twisted his body and avoided a flailing arm, landing on the ground and retreating to Kaoru's side. Secundus lifted his hands and grabbed his head, screaming in rough, guttural tones. Even as they watched, the darkness still encasing Secundus's body began to disappear, evaporating into tiny bubbles that popped the moment they were away from the main piece. He began to shrink in size, no longer a monster but a man once again. Secundus toppled over onto the ground and curled up into a fetal position, still clutching his head with his eyes squeezed shut. Little sounds escaped him, full of panic and pain.

Kaoru looked up at Kai. "What did you do?"

Kai lifted Sanctuary, which was once more in its normal form. "Nightmare Raid. I told you I was going to kill him. It wasn't what I imagined, but I guess it works."

Ioshua slowly approached the fallen Secundus, crouching down to grasp the man's shoulder and turn him enough to look at the dictator's face. Ioshua frowned, then rose and walked away from Secundus, looking toward Kai. Kai stared up at him, almost expecting some sort of lecture. Instead, Ioshua reached out and placed his hand on Kai's shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze.

Kai glanced at Ioshua's hand, then back at the man's face. "What?"

Ioshua smiled. "I knew you wouldn't be able to take his life."

"I'm standing. He's not. I can still change my mind."

Kaoru rose and reached out to grip Kai's wrist. Kai glanced at him, frowned slightly, then looked back at Ioshua. "My Nightmare Raid will keep him incapacitated for a couple of hours at most. While he's living in his own personal hell, he's oblivious to any outside influence, so you'd better move fast."

Ioshua nodded. "I'll take care of him. He won't cause anyone any more trouble." He turned to Kaoru and Rinally then, offering them his hand. "Thank you, Kaoru, Rin. I don't think we would have survived if you weren't here."

Kaoru smiled. "We get sent to where we're needed most, or so we think. We haven't figured it all out yet."

"What will you do, Ioshua?" Rinally asked. "I mean, he's still got supporters. They could cause trouble."

Ioshua shrugged, and he turned to look at Secundus. "Yeah, he's got supporters. But most of them supported him because of the promises he made them if he managed to make Lumina Cross profitable to them. He won't be able to do that now." He sighed, long and deep. "I have to get everyone together now, and see how to move forward from here. After seeing you three fight, and how well darkness and light can work together, I have no more doubts or reservations. What this world needs isn't a dictator or a sole leader, but many who can work together for the betterment of Lumina Cross itself. If we can achieve that much, then when we make Lumina Cross an open world, we'll thrive."

Ioshua walked over to Secundus's limp form then and hauled the man up. Secundus didn't fight the motion. Instead, he hung limply, his eyes half open but blank and unseeing. Every now and then, his body gave a violent shudder, almost convulsing out of Ioshua's grip. Ioshua managed to keep a hold on him, making sure that Secundus didn't actually topple to the ground and get even more injured than he actually was already. Then Ioshua looked up at the Princep's Residence, which was smoking slightly and looked as though it was starting to sag in some areas.

"That place, of course," Ioshua said with wry humor, "will need some work."

Ioshua and the teenagers, along with the incapacitated Secundus, made their way back toward the main yard of the Princep's Residence where the rest of the resistance stood waiting. The group of people stared at the sight of Secundus being supported by Ioshua, confused at first. Then, when Ioshua explained to them his reasoning, his followers let out a raucous cheer, hugging one another and throwing fists into the air. Some even hugged Kai, despite the fact he clearly didn't want the attention. People congratulated Kai on gaining his Keyblade, and they began to speak about the good he could do with Sanctuary for Lumina Cross and the people who lived there. Kai said nothing, but there was a strange look in his eyes as people praised what he had done.

Kaoru and Rin stood apart from the celebrating crowd. Rinally placed her hand on Kaoru's arm, meeting his gaze with a concerned look. Kaoru lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to leave without saying good bye to Ioshua, but the man now had his hands full with Secundus's limp form and the resistance members who followed him. Besides that, curious onlookers were starting to gather around the Residence, and word of the dictator's defeat would spread quickly now. But he didn't want to leave without finding out what Kai wanted to do. Now that he had a Keyblade, Kai could come with him and Rinally. He could help them find Sora and Riku, help them find Hiromu and Tae, and Rinally's parents and sister. Since he had achieved what he'd wanted to do, there was nothing to hold him here on Lumina Cross.

Kaoru realized he was being a little selfish. In the short time that he'd known Kai, he'd come to like the taller boy. It felt strange to separate himself from the person who seemed to resonate the most with him. Light and Darkness were meant to work side by side, and leaving Kai behind felt, to Kaoru, like he was cutting off a part of himself.

"Come on," Rinally whispered. She tugged on Kaoru's arm.

Reluctantly, Kaoru turned to follow her. They slipped away, quiet as ghosts, weaving through the growing crowd until at last they were free of it. Together they walked back to the fountain, staring up at the statuary in the center of the fountain.

Rinally squeezed Kaoru's hand, offering him a little smile. "We did what we came here to do, Kaoru. We can't wait around."

He looked at their joined hands and smiled wanly. "I know. It's just..."

"He's a jerk, but I guess, with his Keyblade, he's part of the club. I don't wanna leave him behind either, but it's not our choice, you know?"

"I know."

"Besides, could you imagine walking around on the Paths with him? He'd probably bring all sorts of Heartless down on us! Like that one monster we saw when we first got into that world between worlds."

Despite himself, Kaoru laughed. "I don't think he'd do that."

"But he might! I mean, darkness is attracted to darkness, right?"

"First of all, I think having me with you would keep the Heartless away. Second, what's to stop me from just leaving you there, Pinkie?"

Kaoru turned to find Kai standing behind him. The redhead's arms were folded across his chest and he seemed to stare down his nose at Rinally. She pursed her lips and got a glint of steel in her eye as she glowered at him. "You wouldn't leave me there." Rin protested. "Kaoru wouldn't let you."

"Who said he'd have a choice?" Kai moved up to Kaoru and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, pulling Kaoru tight against him. "I could just grab him and, poof, we'd be gone."

Rin reached out to pull Kaoru out of Kai's arms, sticking her tongue out at the redhead. "You might have control over Darkness, Kai, but you don't have control over where the Paths go."

"Stop it, both of you." Kaoru said. He pulled his arm from Rin's grip and placed his other hand against Kai's chest to stop him from doing something stupid. Then he met Kai's eyes. "You're coming with us, right?"

Kai's expression seemed to soften as he gazed at Kaoru. "Yeah." He looked at Rinally then, and his face became serious. "I awakened Sanctuary because of you guys. Without you, I never would have realized what real power is. I wouldn't..." he blew out a sigh, "I wouldn't have friends. Real friends, I mean. Besides, Ioshua doesn't need me around. He's got the whole ruler thing covered with what he wants to do. And Lumina Cross is safe enough. And... and I want to go with you. I want to see other worlds. I want to see what the power of Darkness and Light can really do."

"You might never come back here." Rin warned. "And if Lumina Cross _does_ become an open world, it risks being consumed by Heartless."

"You said yourselves that the Paths drop you wherever you're needed most. I'm sure if Lumina Cross really needed me, it would summon me back somehow."

"We don't know where we'll end up next." Kaoru said. "Do you want to say good bye?"

Kai shrugged. "Don't need to. Ioshua knows."

Kaoru tried not to beam and failed. Even Rin looked pleased that Kai was coming with them, teasing and bickering aside. Kaoru offered Kai his hand, and Kai took it with a tight squeeze. "Welcome to the team." Kaoru said softly.

"Yeah." Rin said. "Even though you're a jerk, I'm glad you're coming. Things are just getting more and more dangerous."

For once, Kai regarded Rinally with a serious expression rather than rising to her verbal attack and responding in kind. He inclined his head, then said, "If what you say is true, about this organization trying to use and control Heartless and people, then you're going to need all the extra help you can get."

Then, Kai raised his hand, closed his eyes, and reality seemed to flicker and bend as a puddle of darkness appeared, raising up until at last it opened, revealing the World Between Worlds, and the Paths of Darkness. He opened his eyes, flicked the golden orbs toward the rip in reality. He held his hands out to Kaoru and Rin.

"Shall we go?"


	30. Chapter 30

Twenty-Nine - Sora Interlude; Twilight Town

Sora stretched his arms to the sky to loosen muscles that had grown tight during the gummi ship ride. Beside him, Kairi did the same, though she managed to hide a yawn behind her hand. Sora pretended he hadn't seen it, and since Riku didn't make a comment, neither did he. He was happy to have Kairi along, since it had been a long time since she had joined him and Riku on their tours. Aqua tended to get overprotective if Kairi even mentioned having the desire to tag along with Sora and Riku, and when Kairi didn't yield, she got Terra and Ventus to help her "convince" Sora and Riku that it would be better if Kairi stayed behind. Sora was tempted to tell Aqua that Kairi could take care of herself, and that he and Riku could protect her if it came down to that, but he didn't. Also, he didn't mention that it would probably be Kairi who would be protecting him and Riku if it came down to that, because as vicious a fighter as Riku could be, as clever a warrior as Sora could be, Kairi could be both vicious and clever and because she was pretty and a Princess, enemies tended to underestimate her.

Everyone had gotten a little more protective of Kairi ever since Paradise City had been destroyed by the Heartless. Sora still remembered being woken out of a dead sleep by Kairi's screaming. It had taken both him and Riku to calm her down enough so Aerith could get some chamomile tea into the young woman, and then the two of them had stood on either side of their Princess as Kairi haltingly told of the world's destruction. She had felt it, and likely every Princess of Heart had felt it as well, although Sora had never really bothered to follow up with them. If Kairi had felt it, he was convinced that all the Princesses knew about it. Kairi also had mentioned hearing a young girl cry out for help, and somehow she and Kairi had connected, allowing Kairi to show the girl how to get herself and anyone with her to a safe place, much like how, thanks to Kairi, Sora had ended up in Traverse Town when the Destiny Islands were destroyed so long ago.

"What world?" Leon had asked, his voice soft and yet unyielding.

Kairi's eyes had watered and she looked first at Riku, then at Sora, and then at her tightly-folded hands in her lap. "Paradise City."

Sora remembered his heart hammering roughly in his chest at that admission. Riku looked entirely shocked for a minute before his face became emotionless. Neither of them had forgotten who they'd encountered ten years ago, and in order to protect him, they hadn't gone back.

 _Maybe we should have,_ Sora thought. _Then maybe Kaoru would be with us instead of wandering somewhere, maybe hurt, maybe lost. Vulnerable._

Riku had said, "The girl. She's a Princess of Heart?"

Kairi nodded. "She has to be. In order for me to hear her. Which means she's the one closest to the boy you guys met. Kaoru. It has to be him she was trying to protect."

"So where is he now?" Terra had asked, his arms folded over his chest and a serious look on his face as he studied Kairi.

Kairi shrugged. "I don't know. I never met him, so I don't have a connection to him like this girl does. He could end up on any one of a thousand worlds. But," she looked up at Sora then, "if he's anything like he was when you met him, he's going to start moving as soon as he can. And if he's anything like you, Sora, he's going to be okay."

Sora had thought about it for a minute, then agreed. He looked at Riku. "With the Brotherhood moving like it is, we can't afford to look for him. As much as I hate it, we're just going to have to wait for him to reach us."

"You can check to see if he's been where you are, though." Ventus said, holding up a finger like he wanted to make a point. "And maybe, you can leave breadcrumbs for him to follow, to let him know that you're looking for him."

"And if he's the kind of Keyblade wielder you say he is, then he's going to be going to worlds that need him." Aqua said. "We shouldn't interrupt that."

"Well," Sora had said then, after some lengthy silence, "I guess we ought to go to Twilight Town then. As a hub world, Kaoru could end up there at any point. Plus, we have some friends there who can help us keep an eye out for him."

It had taken some convincing anyway to allow Aqua to let Kairi come to Twilight Town with him and Riku. Sora was certain that the only reason Aqua had relented was because Kairi herself said all they were planning to do was meet some old friends, check out a mansion that her Nobody, Naminé, had once lived in, and maybe see if they could find some clues as to what the Brotherhood was up to currently since it looked like they were starting to move a little more quickly than they had been. Riku had added some commentary to that, stating the mansion they intended to search was one where he'd lived for a while himself, but none of them mentioned that the mansion was where DiZ had kept Sora, Goofy, and Donald in comas until Sora's heart and memories could be rebuilt.

"I can't wait to see Olette," Kairi said. "We've been exchanging letters, but it isn't the same as seeing her in person."

"I'm sure we can stay a while." Riku replied. "I don't sense anything out of sorts here. Just the usual Heartless."

"The Heartless won't bother us, and even if they do, we can handle them." Sora said. He folded his hands behind his head and smiled. "I'd like to talk to Hayner and Pence. Even Seifer if I can find him. They all know what to look out for, so maybe they've been able to see something we haven't."

Kairi grinned. "Do you guys want some sea salt ice cream? I've been dying for some since you guys said you were coming here."

"Gee, you'd think you were kept prisoner somewhere for a long time." Sora laughed as Kairi slugged him lightly in the shoulder and gave him a playful glower.

Riku shook his head. "Come on, then."

It was the silver-haired man who led them through Twilight Town, pausing here and there to talk to people as they passed. No one had seen anything strange. No one had seen anything different beyond the usual Heartless, and the Defense Committee headed by Seifer Almasy seemed to be taking care of things just fine. Oh, the three Keyblade Masters were definitely welcome, but they weren't _needed_. For once, Sora was happy that they weren't _needed_. It was rough traveling from one end of the known worlds to the other, always fighting, always looking, and never having a moment's rest. The only good thing about it was that he got to travel around with Riku, and in the lulls between fighting and seeking, they had managed to eke out some personal time. It was always satisfying, if a little brief for Sora's liking, but it was all they could do in the time they had.

They purchased some sea salt ice cream and ate it while they walked the streets. They met up with Seifer, Fuu, and Rai, chatted with them for a little while, and then let them know to be on the lookout for anything unusual. Seifer promised to get into contact with them if any of the Brotherhood flunkies showed up, and if he saw a fourteen-year-old kid wandering around looking lost, he'd hold on to the kid until Sora could return to confirm the boy's identity. They left the three then, and made their way to the mansion. Before they could go inside, though, Kairi heard her name being called. She turned to see Olette standing near her and her friends' secret place, waving at them.

"Olette!" Kairi shouted, waving back. She didn't wait for Riku and Sora to turn around; she took off running to meet up with Olette, and the two young women caught each other in a tight hug. "I've missed you so much!"

"Me, too!" Olette laughed, then stepped back from Kairi. "Oh, look at your hair! It's so long!"

"You still braid yours in pigtails, I see." Kairi replied with a laugh.

Sora sighed. "Girls. Is hair care all they talk about?"

Riku smirked. "You've never complained about my hair."

"That's because it's soft, silky, and silver. And it tickles when you're... you know."

"I know."

Sora shivered at the warm tone of Riku's voice and gave him a light shove to let him know that it wasn't fair to get him bothered now, especially since they were supposed to be doing something important. Riku gave a soft laugh and caught Sora's wrist, never bothering to glance at the two girls who were now watching them like hungry hawks. Sora didn't seem to care either, kissing Riku deeply. Then he gave a sharp gasp as Riku's hand dropped low and squeezed his ass, and he pulled back from Riku just in time to hear Kairi and Olette make fangirl noises. His cheeks heated.

"I don't like you, Riku."

"Yes, you do." Riku replied with a smile. He kissed Sora again, softer this time, then sauntered toward Kairi and Olette, who were grinning like loons. Sora rolled his eyes and started to follow.

He paused, looking back toward the mansion. He frowned slightly, uncertain of what he'd just felt. It had felt like a pulse of Light, like how he could locate Kairi anywhere if they were on the same world. He glanced toward Riku, who was chatting with the girls and a recently-arrived Hayner and Pence. Riku wasn't indicating that he'd felt anything, which wasn't unusual when Sora thought about it. Riku was Darkness; he couldn't feel Light like Sora could. Still, he didn't feel the pulse again, so he decided to ignore it. It probably wasn't important anyway.

He headed over toward his friends, raising his hand in greeting. Then the six of them headed into the secret place, catching up before they had to get down to business.


	31. Chapter 31

Thirty - Twilight Town

The portal opened up into an alleyway that was tinged with the sinking shadows of the late afternoon. Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally stepped out of the rip in reality into the alley, then Kai turned and closed the door to the Paths of Darkness. With Kai walking alongside them, Kaoru could feel the Heartless actually retreating from their presence, rather than being drawn to them. Even the larger Heartless kept their distance, as if they were afraid of Kai. Perhaps they were, Kaoru decided. It made sense, considering how strong Kai was. Sanctuary also seemed to be an effective deterrent, since it seemed to thrum with power while in the place of pure darkness.

Now that they were in this new world, Kai dismissed Sanctuary after closing the portal and the black and gold of his eyes once more became white and emerald. He ran a hand through his red hair and blew out a sigh.

"You okay?" Kaoru asked, concerned.

Kai glanced at him and nodded. "Yeah. It's strange. I feel a little tired now, but in there, I felt like I was full of energy."

"It makes sense in a way," Rinally said. "That place is full of darkness, with only pinches of light here and there. So, seeing as you wield Darkness, you'd find it empowering. But Kaoru wouldn't survive for a minute if he didn't have his armor on. Neither would I, really, not without Kaoru's help."

Kai nodded at Rinally's words and looked at Kaoru. "Are _you_ okay?"

Kaoru smiled back at him. "I'm fine. It's only my fourth time. I'm getting used to it."

Kai seemed to accept Kaoru's answer, though he still gave the smaller boy a concerned look. He said nothing about it, only taking the lead and leaving the alley ahead of the other two. Rin and Kaoru quickly caught up to him, joining him in a large open area that had three paths leading off it - one to an alley, one to a spattering of buildings caught in the colors of the edge of twilight, and the last to another short alley that seemed to lead upwards to a station.

Kaoru let out a soft breath. "This place reminds me of Paradise City." He pointed up toward one large building. "We have one of those. It's called a train station. If you get on a train in Paradise City, it can take you anywhere you want."

"Sounds like fun." Rinally said.

"Sounds annoying." Kai muttered. When Rinally glowered at him, he just folded his arms over his chest and looked away from her.

"It's a little bit of both." Kaoru said. "But I lived outside of town, so if I wanted to see my friends, I'd have to ride one into the city." He started toward the station building, Kai and Rinally hurrying to keep up.

As with Traverse Town, there were no natives walking the city's street. The three teenagers wandered through the town for hours, exploring almost everywhere with the curiosity of strangers. They eventually wandered into a maze of buildings, low streets, and bridges that got them even more lost than they had been before. At last, Kaoru had to stop to rest, leaning up against a wall on the far side of the maze. He noticed a huge hole in the wall and a dark forest beyond, but he was too exhausted to want to go explore it.

Rinally sat beside him, her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. Kai leaned against the wall on Kaoru's opposite side, his arms crossed over his chest as his eyes roamed the tall buildings and the shadows that never seemed to shift no matter what hour it was. Then Kai angled his head toward the giant clocktower above the train station, judging the time by the angles of the hands.

"What is it?" Kaoru asked.

"It's almost ten at night. But it's still light out, captured at the edge of twilight." Kai replied. He lifted a fist and rubbed his eyes. "It's no wonder we're so tired. We haven't had anything to eat since we left Lumina Cross, and we haven't gotten any sleep, either."

"If you have any ideas, I'm all ears." Rinally said in a subdued tone. "I saw a few shops between here and where we started, but they were all closed. I doubt we'll find an inn in this town, too."

"Even if we did, we don't have any money to pay for anything." Kaoru pointed out. "We might be able to trade work for food, but that's only if we can talk to the shop owner."

"If they're leery of strangers, then we'd be better off trying to scrounge something up."

"And where do you suggest we do that? Find trash cans?" Kai asked.

"No!" Rin blew out a long sigh. "I don't know, okay? I'm tired. I want something good to eat and I want a soft bed to sleep in. I'm tired of all this fighting back to back and I'm tired of traveling without finding any clues as to _what_ we're fighting."

Kaoru slowly sank down to the ground and reached to put his arms around Rinally. Even a normally strong-willed girl like her could suddenly feel weak in the face of adversity, and neither of them had had much of a chance to rest and recover their strength since they'd first met Kai and talked with him in the tunnels below Lumina Cross. Between fighting their way through Secundus's guardians, and then Secundus himself, and then using the Paths of Darkness to reach this new world, they had used up whatever reserves of energy their bodies had managed to gain back. Rinally was probably worse off than Kaoru, since her magic relied on her mana reserves, which relied on the strength of her body. If she felt weak, then she wouldn't be able to use her magic, which made her an easy target for any enemy that might attack them. Kaoru was slightly different, considering he had Guardian. It was far easier for him to summon and wield the Keyblade now than it was when he'd first awakened the weapon, and he didn't need to use as much energy to keep the Keyblade in hand. Still, without rest and food, it wouldn't be much longer before he, too, became useless.

Rinally leaned her head against Kaoru's shoulder. She squeezed her eyes shut. Kai studied them both for a moment, then pushed away from the wall. "Stay here." he said. "I'll be back in a little while."

Kaoru looked up at Kai as the redhead started walking away. "Don't do anything crazy." he called.

Kai shot a fist up into the air, gave a short wave, then disappeared among the buildings.

Rinally sniffled. "He's still a jerk."

Kaoru laughed softly. "You say that because he didn't give you a hug."

"I think he likes you. You know. Like _likes_ you."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because, you know, the whole light and dark thing? I don't know. He just seems... happier around you." Rinally rubbed her eyes and sighed. "And the hug was a big tip off. The _way_ he hugged you, it was sooo possessive."

"Sure he wasn't just trying to get under your skin?"

She lifted her head and met his eyes. An elegant eyebrow rose in full-on skepticism. "You're not dense, Kaoru. Besides, I saw you blushing. You liked it."

He stared at her for a minute, then turned his head away and knew his cheeks were turning pink. "So what?" he said defensively.

"So nothing. He likes you. You like him."

"I like you, too."

"Not that kind of like." Rin waved her hand dismissively. "He _likes_ you. And you _like_ him. You should kiss him."

"Rin!"

"I'm serious! Just plant a big, wet one on him. See what he does. If he punches your lights out, then obviously, its the darkness that's just wanting to get touchy-feely with the light. If he sweeps you off your feet and goes into a full-on snog fest with you, then he's definitely in love with you."

Kaoru's cheeks burned and he stared at the stones between his legs. He wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or to cry. "But I'm not even sure if I love him. It wouldn't be fair to Kai if I didn't love him."

Rinally didn't respond to that. Kaoru looked up toward her and found her studying him with an unreadable expression. Finally, she blew out a sigh. "Yeah," she said lowly, "I guess you're right. And anyway, as much as I'd love to see it," - she ignored his muttered, indignant "Pervert." - "I don't think it'd do anything but put us all in danger. I mean, we're essentially in the middle of a war. We don't want to give our enemies an advantage over us."

Kaoru sighed deeply and leaned his head back against the wall, staring up at the pastel-colored sky. Rin was right. If their enemies discovered that Kai and Kaoru were more involved with each other than just allies thrown together by the mechanisms of fate, they might do whatever they could to torment one boy or the other. And knowing how volatile Kai could be, Kaoru was certain their enemies could provoke him into a blind rage by hurting, or even killing, Kaoru. Despite that, Kaoru decided he wouldn't mind if Kai wanted to kiss him, or if he wanted to get a little closer, or if he wanted them to get to know each other a little better than they did currently. Kaoru thought back to a time when he was much smaller, staring up in awe at two men who wielded the powers of Light and Darkness with such finesse it was hard to tell where one relinquished his control over his affinity and the other took control of it. During that fight, Riku and Sora always seemed able to move without communicating with each other, as if each knew what the other was going to do before he did it. Could he and Kai become as seamless as Sora and Riku were?

He had been able to sense where Kai was back on Lumina Cross. Even here, on this world, he had a general sense of where Kai was relative to him. Kai probably had the same sixth sense when it came to Kaoru, which was probably how he had located them before he and Rin had had a chance to leave Lumina Cross. Even though Kai was so far away now, he could likely sense where Kaoru was.

 _Which was probably why he told me to stay put, other than the obvious reason._ Kaoru closed his eyes for a while. Then he said, "I think whoever decides to try and provoke Kai by hurting me, or even hurting you, is in for a big surprise."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. Kai's passionately violent and he's probably violently passionate. If provoked, he could be more dangerous than you when you're pissed off." Kaoru said, keeping his tone even.

Rinally turned her head slightly to stare at him, but he couldn't tell if her expression was one of acceptance or one that a predator gave its prey right before the predator killed it. "You haven't seen me pissed off." she said at last.

Kaoru shrugged because it seemed the safest response at the moment. They sat in silence for a while after that, and Rin eventually pillowed her head on Kaoru's shoulder and fell asleep against him, leaving him to watch the twilight-lit area for any surprise attacks and Kai's return. His eyes felt heavy, but somehow Kaoru managed to stay awake, shifting only now and then in order to relieve aches in his legs or in his shoulders. He didn't move too much or too quickly, considering he didn't want to disturb Rin, but sitting was starting to take its toll on his body.

His eyes started to close, fighting for every centimeter against his best effort to keep them open. At last, his exhaustion won its battle against his desire, and Kaoru fell into a slumber that was probably deeper than it should have been, considering their situation. He wasn't sure how long he was out, but he was brought back into sudden, startling awareness by the cold brush of something against his mind. His eyes snapped open and Guardian appeared in his hand, ready for battle. They were alone in that twilight-lit section of the town, but his heart still slammed against his chest and his body was tight, filled with adrenaline.

Kaoru scanned the area, seeing nothing but shifting shadows. There was no reason for him to have reacted the way he had, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something had been watching him, or maybe, it had been some _one_. Rinally made a soft sound and rubbed her cheek against his thigh, where her head was pillowed. Kaoru looked down at her, dismissed Guardian, and then carefully shifted to get out from beneath her, pillowing her head on her backpack. He got to his feet and took a few steps away from Rin, looking up toward the clocktower. According to the huge timepiece, it was only four in the morning. He looked around him, but he didn't see Kai. He could still feel him, but he couldn't pinpoint the other boy's location. He could only get a sense of a general direction.

He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. He looked toward the wall, and the great rent in the brick. The shadows there seemed even more ominous than before, but Kaoru found himself being drawn toward that opening despite his initial fear of it. He stopped between the side of light and the side of darkness, staring at the large trees that grew densely within their confining pen. He thought he saw a shadow moving among the trees, flickering from trunk to trunk. The shadow looked like Hiromu.

Startled, Kaoru stood frozen for a minute, torn between chasing after Hiromu and staying put.

"Kaoru!"

Kai caught his wrist before Kaoru could enter the breach fully. He yanked the little blonde back into the twilight-lit part of the town, then hooked his arm around Kaoru's waist. Kaoru looked startled at being trapped like that, but he didn't seem about to argue. He looked up at Kai in confusion. Kai ignored Kaoru for a moment, staring into the break in the wall with narrowed green eyes, trying to separate shadows into individual shapes and recognizable forms. When he saw nothing out of the ordinary, he focused on Kaoru.

"What were you thinking?" he hissed, giving the smaller boy a little shake. "You can't walk off by yourself in a strange place!"

Kaoru just stared up at Kai for the longest time. Then he whispered, "I thought I saw my friends. One of them, anyway."

Kai blinked. "From your world?"

Kaoru nodded. His eyes stung. "I lost them when my world was destroyed. Every world I've gone to, I've tried to look for them, but I haven't had any luck." He lifted his fist and rubbed the tears out of his peripheral. "Rin fell asleep, and you were gone for so long that I did too. I tried not to, I really did. But then I woke up and I swear I was being watched. And then I saw..."

Kai stared down at Kaoru, expressionless. Then he sighed softly and pulled Kaoru against him, enfolding the younger boy in a tight embrace. He said nothing, staring into the darkness on the other side of the wall. He'd been on his way back when he'd sensed Kaoru moving. He'd taken off at a flat run, fearing that his friends had come under attack and Kaoru was trying to lead the enemy away from Rin. But when he'd arrived, Rin was sleeping peacefully in the spot where he'd left them, and Kaoru looked like he was about to step off a cliff into the unknown. Kai had the sudden feeling that, if he didn't stop Kaoru, he would lose his light forever. So he tapped into his power of darkness and quick-stepped through air, much like how he did for his Nightmare Raid move, and latched onto Kaoru in order to keep him from disappearing.

"I'll help you find your friends." Kai murmured into Kaoru's hair.

Kaoru nodded.

Kai sighed softly, then stepped back from Kaoru and led him back over to where Rin still slept. He pushed Kaoru to the ground, then sat beside him, both leaning up against the wall. He hooked an arm around Kaoru's shoulders, and with his other hand pulled out of his shirt pocket what little food he'd been able to find at such a late hour. It wasn't much, but it would at least give them some sort of source of energy. Kaoru accepted his share wordlessly, leaning against Kai as he nibbled on the hard bread and a questionable piece of cheese. Kai ate his share while staring out across the twilight-lit courtyard.

"You won't disappear without telling me first, right?"

Kaoru looked up at Kai, confused. "What?"

Kai looked down at Kaoru. "You heard me."

Kaoru's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he couldn't quite figure out what Kai meant. If Kai hadn't gotten to know the other boy as he had, he would have gotten his back up at such an expression. But on Kaoru's face, it only meant that he was trying to puzzle out Kai's meaning. It was his confused look. Kai kept his silence, continuing to stare into Kaoru's blue eyes. At last Kaoru nodded, his cheeks slightly pink, and he said, "I won't. But you have to promise me the same thing."

Kai nodded with a satisfied smile. "I promise."


	32. Chapter 32

Thirty-One - Twilight Town

Somehow, they found sleep.

When Kaoru woke, he found Rin standing over him, a broad smile upon her face. That confused him, considering he wasn't sure why she would be smiling like that, but then he remembered what had happened last night and remembered where he was.

Rinally mouthed, _I told you so._

Kaoru replied, _Shut up._ And blushed.

Kai was still asleep, with his arm firmly around Kaoru's shoulders. Kaoru's head had ended up pillowed on Kai's shoulder, his own body snuggled close to the redhead's. Kai's chin almost touched his chest, his red hair making a sort of curtain between him and Kaoru's face. The hold Kai had on Kaoru was entirely possessive, and it was clear that Kaoru wouldn't be able to move without disturbing Kai. Kaoru had a sinking feeling that if he so much as twitched funny, Kai would snap awake and be ready to kill something with Sanctuary.

It took Kaoru a minute to gather the courage to even attempt to move. Somehow, he managed to extricate himself from Kai's hold, moving away from the older boy only centimeters at a time. When he was at last free, he got to his feet and joined Rin, who was grinning madly but doing her best not to burst into a giggle fit. They didn't move far away from Kai, just to the edge of the wall, and stared out onto the town, which now was coming to life.

"Soooo," Rin started, her voice a sing-song croon, "when did _he_ get back?"

Kaoru hated that he blushed so easily. "Late."

"Late? That's it?"

"I wasn't exactly keeping an eye on the time. Maybe a little after four."

Rin's eyebrow rose toward her hairline. "What happened?"

"Nothing that you need to know about."

"Oh, come _on_ , Kaoru."

Kaoru stared out across the town, his lips pressed firmly together. Finally, he told her what had happened while she'd been sleeping. She was silent as he talked, her eyes sliding away from him and out onto the town. When he finally stopped talking, Rin folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side.

"Do you really think you saw him? Your friend Hiromu, I mean."

Kaoru lifted his shoulders in a helpless shrug. "I don't know. If you had asked me last night, I would have sworn that I had. But... it was only a shadow. Maybe I was seeing things."

"What does your heart say?"

Kaoru placed his hand over his heart, feeling the steady beat of it against his palm. He closed his eyes. "I saw him. He was really there. But... I don't know why he would run away from me. I don't know why he wouldn't recognize me."

"Maybe he saw the same thing you did, a shadow illumined by light. Maybe he couldn't recognize you."

"Maybe."

"We could go there to look for him. Maybe there was a reason he was in that creepy forest."

Kaoru looked at her, feeling an ember of hope kindle inside him. "You think maybe Tae is with him?"

Rinally nodded. "It's the only explanation that makes sense. Maybe they landed here like we did in Traverse Town. Maybe they picked that spot to hide because no one goes there."

Kaoru smiled. "Maybe we should go look then. If I can find them now, then all of us can travel together, and once we find Sora and Radiant Garden, he can help us get our worlds back."

Rinally grinned. "Yeah. And at the very least, we'll be safe on Radiant Garden. I mean, if that's Sora's base, then I'm sure it's gotta be Heartless- and Creepy Coat-free."

"Creepy-Coat?"

"I thought of it myself, too. It sounds better than just calling Them 'They' or whatever, capital T."

Kaoru laughed. "Sometimes the way your mind works amazes me."

"I amaze myself."

"...I'm less than impressed."

Kaoru and Rinally turned to look at Kai, who stood behind them with his arms crossed over his chest. His head canted to one side as he studied Kaoru and Rin in turn, and then he stepped up between them, his green eyes flicking around the town below. Rin blew out a long, exaggerated sigh. "I don't care if you're impressed or not." she told Kai. "I didn't say it for your benefit."

Kai turned an unreadable expression onto her and Kaoru thought for a minute that he was going to provoke her somehow. But Kai just said, "If this is the best you can come up with, I suggest you don't quit your day job."

"You realize that day job is hanging out with you and Kaoru and fighting Heartless and things like that?"

"I realize."

Rinally blinked, as if she couldn't decide if Kai had just made a joke at her expense or had readily admitted that he accepted her as his friend. Then a little smile appeared on her face and Kaoru knew that she had decided to accept the latter explanation. Then she asked, "Did you find anything interesting on your prowl last night?"

Kai shook his head. "Not really. It's a pretty big town, and that clocktower seems to be the center of it. There's an underground area, as well, but I didn't explore it."

"Did you see any people?" Kaoru asked.

"No. Not at that time. Though," Kai's eyes narrowed, "though I thought I sensed something. It wasn't friendly."

"Was it Kaoru's mysterious shadow?" Rinally asked.

Kai paused, but he shook his head after a minute. "No, I don't think it was that. But whatever was out there was definitely unfriendly." He looked at Kaoru with a warm gaze. Kaoru gave him an unsure-but-game smile in return.

Rin tapped her fingers against her lips. "Well, whatever it was, we aren't going to learn anything if we just keep standing here all day. Look, there are plenty more people out now, so maybe we can get some information. Along with something to eat."

"Lead the way, princess." Kai said.

Kaoru elbowed him in the ribs. "Stop antagonizing her."

Kai rubbed the sore spot on his chest but said nothing, a tiny, amused smile playing on his lips. Rin could only smirk, and she went to retrieve their stuff. When she returned, the three of them began to explore the town now that it was more active.

They didn't find much, though an enterprising shop owner promised them free food if they went around town putting up posters. With the three of them, they managed to finish in a decent amount of time, though they were in agreement that they really hoped they would get off this world soon so they wouldn't have to do such tedious, time-consuming jobs just to eat. With their bellies filled, they continued to explore the town, delving into the underground where they encountered weak Shadows that ran away from them rather than fight.

When they emerged back into the twilight, Kai led the way through the town once more, his path a winding one without any real destination. The twists and turns took them up to an alleyway which was actually a dead end. They turned back around and started down out of the alley, Kai leading. He stopped walking suddenly, nearly causing Kaoru to slam into his back, and Rinally to crash into Kaoru. The two managed to catch themselves before they caused any serious injury to each other, then peered around Kai to see what had caused him to stop so suddenly.

Ahead of them, looking startled, was a young woman with brown hair braided into twin pigtails. She was at least in her early to mid-twenties, dressed in an orange top and khaki capri pants. In her arms were two grocery bags filled with items, along with a plastic bag that clearly had ice cream packaging inside it. She didn't seem to be dangerous. In fact, she seemed incredibly perplexed by their presence, if not a little afraid. Kaoru wasn't sure if her fear came from the fact Kai was staring at her like he was about to murder her, or if her fear came from the fact she was by herself with three strangers.

"Yo, Olette! What's taking you so-"

The speaker, a blonde young man dressed in fatigue pants and a black t-shirt, appeared from the opposite direction of the woman. Puffing up behind him came another young man, this one dressed in a red t-shirt and blue jeans. His dark hair stood up from his head in mimicry of a broom, held in place by a white and blue headband. His eyes, like the first man's, went wide at spotting Kaoru, Kai, and Rin, and he lifted a hand to point at them, little sounds escaping his mouth but no coherent words.

Olette, the young woman, seemed to compose herself faster than her friends. "Um, hi there."

Kai glanced back at Kaoru, who gave a helpless little shrug. Since when was _he_ leader? But Rin gave him a little push on the back, forcing him to take a step forward and assume that role, standing just in front of Kai. "Hello." he said, unsure.

Olette gave him a bright smile, clearly relieved for some reason. "When did you three arrive? We haven't seen any gummi ships today."

"Olette," said the blonde man, "are you sure you should be chatting up strangers? I mean, I'm sure they're really busy."

"Yeah," said the man in red, "the sea salt ice cream is melting."

"Gross." Rinally whispered. Kaoru glanced back at her and wondered if Rin realized that Kai shared her sentiments about that particular flavor of ice cream.

"Well, Hayner, if you haven't noticed, they're kind of between us and our secret place." Olette said, turning a narrow-eyed stare onto the blonde man. "They're probably lost, anyway. Lots of tourists come here and end up getting lost."

"Um," Kaoru said, "we're not... we're not actually all that lost. I mean, we've been all over this town. It's just... we don't know where we are and..."

"And we don't actually have a clue as to what we're looking for." Rin jumped in, moving up to Kaoru's side. "See, we didn't use a gummi ship to get here. These two might not look it, but they're Keyblade wielders. We used the Paths to get here. I guess if you know where the gummi ship station is, could you point us in the right direction?"

"We're trying to get to Radiant Garden." Kai supplied. "We're looking for someone."

Kaoru watched the expressions on Hayner and Olette and the other man's faces as Kai and Rinally spoke. Their eyes went wide when Rinally spoke of him and Kai being Keyblade wielders. Not wide in surprise, but wide in understanding and shock. Then their expressions changed from shock to disbelief upon hearing the way the three of them had come to this world, and then the three of them had glanced at each other when Kai mentioned Radiant Garden. They knew something, Kaoru realized. They knew something important.

Finally, Olette said, "Maybe you should join us. We were just about to sit down to study and have snacks."

"Well, maybe _you_ were going to study, Olette, but Pence and I were just going to eat the snacks." Hayner said.

Olette turned that narrow-eyed stare on him again. "Just because it's summer vacation doesn't mean you can put off that project, Hayner. You procrastinate every year. It's amazing you actually _got_ into college. Even _Seifer_ has a better GPA than you."

Hayner winced and glowered. Kaoru smiled, amused that Olette's easy mention of that name caused Hayner so much personal grief. "Well, if it's not too much trouble, that would be nice. My name is Kaoru. This is Kai, and Rinally."

"It's nice to meet you, Kaoru. Now, shall we go inside?" Olette smiled as she moved up to them, then squeezed past them to lead them into a little break in the wall the three hadn't noticed before. Hesitating only briefly, Kaoru and his friends followed her, with Pence and Hayner bringing up the rear.

Once they were all settled on the floor or the couches or chairs in the hidden room, Olette handed out little snack boxes from one of the bags to Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally. She handed Pence and Hayner two of the three sea salt ice creams that were in the plastic bag, then opened her own and sat back in her seat. The six studied each other, each group uncertain if they were the ones who were to start speaking first, or if they were the ones who were going to listen.

Deciding to take the lead, Kaoru licked peanut butter from his index finger and asked Olette, "Where are we?"

She smiled. "This is Twilight Town."

"Twilight Town?"

"Mhm. It's a hub world."

Rinally leaned forward. "Like Traverse Town." She looked at Kaoru. "I wonder why we ended up on a hub world? Do you think we're needed here for some reason?"

Kaoru lifted his shoulders in a shrug, but it was Hayner who said, "I don't know why junior Keyblade wielders would be needed here. I mean, Sora, Riku, and Kairi were here not too long ago. In fact, if you'd met us a little while earlier, you would have been able to meet them too. They literally just left."

Kaoru stiffened. "Really?! I've been trying to find Sora ever since I got my Keyblade! That's why we've been trying to get to Radiant Garden."

Hayner's smile was more of a grimace than anything else. "Yeah, they mentioned that they were looking for someone too. I don't know if it was you they were looking for, but it seems like too much of a coincidence that you show up looking for Sora and he just left."

Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally exchanged glances. "Did they say where they were going?" Rin asked.

Hayner shook his head. "Riku mentioned the Coliseum, but I think they were headed back to Radiant Garden. They went to check out the mansion on the other side of the wall, but I guess they didn't find anything there."

"What did they come to look for?" Kai asked.

"They didn't really say," Pence started, "but Sora said a few more worlds had disappeared and some really strange things had happened to some people that they know. Plus, the Emblem Heartless have started to become more prevalent on open worlds, along with more sightings of guys in Organization XIII coats."

"Sora came to check on us." Olette said. "Then he asked if anything weird's been going on in town, and other than the usual, nothing _weird_ has happened."

"But we noticed that there were lights coming on in the mansion, so we mentioned it to him." Pence added. "They went to go check it out. I swear that place is haunted, but no one believes me."

"That's because it's _not_ haunted." Hayner drawled. "You thought it was haunted when we were kids and it wasn't. Why would it be haunted now?"

Pence glowered at his friend. "Shut up."

"So they checked it out," Kai prompted, "and came back empty handed?"

"Yeah." Hayner said. "I mean, even if they didn't, they wouldn't tell us. Sora just said to keep our eyes open and if we saw something strange, to lay low and try not to get involved."

Kaoru stared down into his lap and thought about what he had learned. He was incredibly disappointed to realize that he had just missed meeting Sora. It seemed like he was doomed to wander forever before finally reaching his destination and meeting up with the older Keyblade Master. But it wasn't a total loss. According to Hayner, Sora, Riku, and Kairi (whoever she was) had gone to check out a mansion. Hayner said the mansion was on the other side of the wall, and Kaoru could only surmise that the wall he'd been talking about was the same wall where he'd seen the apparition of Hiromu in that forest. Was there really a mansion beyond there? Maybe Rin was right, then. Maybe Hiromu and Tae had ended up here in Twilight Town, and were hiding out in the mansion. But if they were, wouldn't Sora have found them? Maybe they didn't know they could trust Sora and Riku. Maybe they hid when Sora went exploring, afraid of who he might be. What if Hiromu and Tae were hiding from the Creepy Coats, and they had believed Sora was one of them? Hiromu would want to protect Tae at all costs. The last memory Kaoru had of Tae was her glowing with bright light and screaming, so if she did survive Paradise City's destruction, Hiromu would do whatever he needed to to protect her.

His hand went up to his headphones, where his fingers rubbed against the scorch mark left on the muff that had been closest to Tae. Despair flickered in his heart, warring with the hope that he would, eventually, find his friends.

Kai reached out and gripped Kaoru's shoulder tightly, making the blonde look up at him in askance. Kai tilted his head, his expression a serious one. Kaoru smiled at him, but it was a little unsure.

"We can try and get into contact with Radiant Garden." Olette said, reaching to put her popsicle stick into a nearby trash can. "Sora gave us a special set of pens and stationery that we could drop into the nearby mailbox and it'd get transported immediately there."

Pence nodded. "All you'd have to do is wait here with us, and as soon as Sora gets the letter, I'm sure he'll be back to get you."

Kaoru looked up at Rinally and then at Kai. There was no telling how much time that would take, even if the letter Olette wrote made it to Radiant Garden on time. Sora might not even be there to accept the letter, and by the time he was, it might be too late. Still, Kaoru knew that he couldn't just sit here and do nothing. If there was a chance - however slim - of finding Tae and Hiromu, then he needed to do it. He knew Kai and Rin would help him. He looked at Olette, Pence, and Hayner and smiled.

"Thanks," Kaoru said, "but I think we'd better keep moving ourselves. I mean, if Sora wants you to lay low and stay safe, then us being here will only put you in danger."

"Kaoru's right," Rin said. "Besides, we're bound to meet up with them at some point. I couldn't look them in the face if you guys ended up getting hurt because of us."

"But you can write the letter anyway," Kaoru added. "If Sora knows we're looking for him, maybe he'll start looking for us, too. Maybe he can set something up for us when we get to Radiant Garden."

Olette nodded, smiling. "I can do that for you."

"You shouldn't go off without supplies, though." Pence said. "Let's see what you need. Hayner and I can go get them for you."

Kaoru and Rinally upended their packs onto the floor. The clothes Belle had given them were discarded now, folded into a neat pile and set aside. That left a meager supply of things left for the three teenagers to use between them, and none of it was food. Rinally had a few mana potions and there was what looked like a health potion, but Kaoru had nothing left after his pack had been emptied and cleaned out. Kai looked on with a bemused smile, since he didn't have a backpack to plunder through. He had only come with the clothes on his back and the Keyblade in his hand. It didn't take long to put together a shopping list of what the three teenagers would need for their journey, however long it would take. There was no telling if they would be able to return to a hub world, or even if they would end up on a world as advanced as Twilight Town or any of the other worlds they had seen before. Hayner and Pence took the list, and with Rinally, went to go buy what the three of them would need for the foreseeable future.

That left Kai and Kaoru with Olette.

"So," Olette started, nerves back in her voice, "you're both Keyblade wielders?"

Kaoru nodded. He held up his right hand, and with a little bit of will and effort, Guardian materialized into his hand with a shimmer of light. Beside him, Kai did the same with his left hand, and Sanctuary appeared in a pop of darkness. Both Keyblades seemed to begin to diffuse a soft glow. "This is Guardian." he said.

"This is Sanctuary." Kai added, his deep voice oddly soft.

Olette stared at both Keyblades with an expression of awe. "I've never seen Keyblades like that before. Even Sora and Riku's Keyblades don't look like yours. It's amazing; I can tell just by looking which one is Light and which one is Darkness."

Kaoru smiled. "I guess it's pretty easy, huh?" He let Guardian vanish. Kai did the same with Sanctuary.

Olette shook her head. "Sometimes, it isn't as easy as you think. Someone you think that may be a champion of Light is really an agent of Darkness. Maybe even the other way around. You just have to trust what your heart tells you. Now, where is that paper? I know I had it somewhere in here."

Kaoru looked up at Kai and smiled at him. Kai returned the gesture with just a twitch of his lips. Then they and Olette got down to the business of writing Sora's letter, in hopes that maybe it would reach the Keyblade Master before Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally got into too much trouble.


	33. Chapter 33

Thirty-Two - Twilight Town

Kaoru watched as Olette sealed their letter in a white envelope and carefully wrote out Sora's name on the envelope. She added a few other lines, such as 'Top Secret' and 'Very Important' to the face of the envelope. By the time she was done with that, Rinally, Pence, and Hayner had returned, their arms laden with items and non-perishable food items. While Olette and Hayner went to put the letter in the mail, Rinally and Kaoru began to pack the items away into their backpacks. Kaoru pushed most of the mana potions toward Rinally, knowing she would need them more than he or Kai would. His pack would hold most of, if not all of, the food Pence and Hayner had bought for them, along with whatever potions Rinally couldn't fit in her backpack.

When Hayner and Olette returned, the three teenagers were about ready to leave. They had decided that they would return to the hole in the wall and go through it this time. They would then head into the mansion, try and find what Sora, Riku, and Kairi had been looking for, and then they would go from there. The likely plan was that they would return to Hayner, Pence, and Olette and see if they couldn't get a gummi ship to take them directly to Radiant Garden. Barring that, there was always the World Between Worlds, though Kaoru wanted to avoid the Paths of Darkness if at all possible. Nothing had happened so far, but that didn't mean something wasn't waiting in there to eat their faces off when they weren't paying attention.

Saying good-bye to Olette and the others, Kaoru, Rinally, and Kai headed back through Twilight Town. They moved quickly, whether it was because they just didn't want to be out in the open or because they were excited about having a new leg of their journey revealed to them. As they approached the break in the wall, Kaoru slowed his pace. Following his lead, so did Kai and Rinally. For a minute, they stood staring at the hole in the wall and the dark forest beyond.

"Are you ready, Kaoru?" Rinally asked, stepping up to her friend's side.

He glanced at her, and then looked at Kai when the redhead came up on his other side. "Yeah." Kaoru said after a minute. "I'm ready."

He was tempted to take Kai's hand, to hold on tight to the other boy, just to make sure that he wouldn't disappear when they crossed from light to darkness. But he kept his hand firmly to his side and took a deep breath. Then he led his friends through the breach and into the dark forest.

The atmosphere in this place was far different from what it was in Twilight Town. Beyond being darker, it seemed more oppressive. There was still light coming from the breach in the wall, and from the sky above the trees, but other than those little bits of brightness, it was still closer to true sundown than twilight. Kaoru took a few steps forward, then paused and shivered.

"Yeah," Rinally said, rubbing her arms as if she were cold. "I feel it too."

Kai raised an eyebrow at them. "Feel what?"

"Like something's watching us." Rinally replied.

When Kai looked at him, Kaoru nodded. "I don't know if there's anything actually here, but I really get the feeling that there's something malevolent out there."

Kai narrowed his eyes and pivoted, facing in each cardinal direction for a span of a few heartbeats. Then he turned back to Rinally and Kaoru, his eyes starting to become gold. "There's nothing here. But there was, before we got here. It was probably chased off by Sora and the others."

"What do you think it was?"

Kai shrugged. "My gut says it's a lingering resentment. Someone didn't want Sora coming here, and since he did, they had to change their plans."

Rinally rubbed her arms again. "Creepy."

"What wouldn't they want Sora to find?" Kaoru asked, mostly to himself. He couldn't think of anything that the Creepy Coats wanted to keep secret. They had been mostly operating out in the open rather than in the shadows, after all. All their machinations had been practically shoved into the limelight. At least, as far as Kaoru had experienced. "It isn't like they've been on the down low." he finished.

"Who knows how bad guys think?" Rinally replied. She lifted a hand and pointed. "There's a path through the trees here. It's pretty well worn."

Kai and Kaoru fell into step behind Rin, giving her a small lead as they followed her down the path. Kaoru kept glancing into the shadows, trying to see if maybe there was something - or someone - hiding there. He wasn't sure if the shadow he'd seen had been Hiromu or something else. He didn't want to be caught unawares either way, considering he didn't want Kai to kill Hiromu and he didn't want to suddenly find a Heartless trying to chew on his face.

Kai's fingers encircled Kaoru's wrist and held tight. Kaoru looked up at the redhead and noticed that Kai's irises were solid gold. He was beginning to recognize that the shifting colors of Kai's eyes didn't always necessarily mean Kai was in a bad mood. Sometimes, it was just to allow Kai to see in darker environments, like in the Paths or in the tunnels in Lumina Cross. Kaoru didn't think that the forest here was dark enough for Kai's eyes to adjust, but maybe it was just because it was a dark-rich environment that forced the change. Kai gave Kaoru a little shrug and a tiny smile.

Kaoru smiled back. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

Kai shrugged again. "I'm fine. I just... I don't know. I have a feeling. I can't decide if it's good or bad. It just is."

"Like Rin's and my feeling about being watched?"

"Kind of. It's more like being able to feel a presence but being unable to decide if it's dangerous or not."

Rin paused to look back at them, half turned toward the beginnings of light at the end of the path. It threw her into sharp shadow, her mulberry eyes being the brightest part of her. "I get what you're saying, Kai. There's something weird about this place. Not bad weird, but not good weird either. It just is. Just like Kaoru and I could sense someone watching us."

Kai nodded. He tugged on Kaoru's wrist. "Let's hurry up and see what we can find. I don't want to get caught off guard."

Kaoru smiled and let Kai pull him along, passing Rin with a tiny little smile. She returned it with a knowing one, and fell into step beside him. Kaoru reached back to take Rin's hand, and felt her relax as their fingers curled around each other. For whatever reason, just holding onto his friends comforted Kaoru. It seemed to comfort Rin as well.

They continued through the forest on that path, emerging out into a wide, walled courtyard that was overlooked by a giant mansion. The courtyard was partitioned by a wrought-iron fence that looked shiny and well-oiled despite being, supposedly, out of use. Kaoru stepped up to the gate and realized that it was slightly ajar, as if someone had tried to close it but hadn't really given it a hard enough push for the latches to catch. With Rin and Kai behind him, Kaoru reached for the gate, wrapped his fingers around one of the bars, and pulled it open. The gate didn't even so much as squeak.

"I feel like that's anti-climactic." Kai muttered.

Rin chuckled. "What, you want a Heartless to come out and chew on your face?"

"No, but I mean... With all these mixed signals we're getting, I'd rather something happen that makes them go away then us walking blind into something that'll get us killed."

Kaoru stepped through the gate and stared up at the mansion. The huge white building looked ominous on its own, and he could see why Pence had claimed it was haunted. There was just something about it that warned people that they were unwanted here, and if they entered, it was at their own risk. The windows were all shielded by curtains, which, if you looked at them out of the corner of your eye, seemed to shiver and shake as if someone was pulling them back to peer outside and then letting them fall back into place. Kaoru stood halfway between the gate and the front door to the mansion, craning his head back as he studied the building from left to right and back again. He couldn't sense anything amiss about the mansion, couldn't sense anything hiding within the building. But there was still a feeling of uncertainty that gripped his heart. Taking a deep breath, Kaoru steeled his courage and started forward.

Rin and Kai followed him. He didn't miss the fact that Kai had Sanctuary in his hand and Rin had her staff. He was the only one who was going in unarmed, and figured it was probably better he did. He could move faster without the weight of Guardian in his hand, and anyway, if he was attacked, Kai and Rin would be in a better position to counterattack than he would be.

Kaoru pushed open the mansion door. It gave a throaty, wooden creak as it swung inward, revealing an open plan front room. Despite the obvious emptiness, there was no dust collected on the floor, no signs that any time had passed between its abandonment and the rare visit by Sora that had occurred only hours before. There were no decorations, though there were empty places where Kaoru thought paintings or photographs once must've hung, and there were empty vases situated where people would see them. Kaoru figured they had once been filled with flowers, but now they sat like hungry mouths, open and waiting for food that would never come. Near the back of the foyer was a twin staircase that led up to the second level. There were doors on either side, no doubt leading into other rooms.

Kaoru stepped further in. Nothing leaped out at him, so he continued in to the center of the front room. His footfalls echoed in the empty space. Behind him, Kai and Rinally came through the door, staring around the front room with varying expressions of disappointment and relief. Kai dismissed Sanctuary and put his hands on his hips, his eyes flicking from left to right toward the stairs and then to the ceiling. Rin dismissed her staff and trotted toward the left of the foyer, opening the door to stick her head into the room behind it and look around.

"I don't see anything." she said. "It doesn't look like anyone's been here for some time. I mean, I don't see any reason why anyone would come here to hide, or whatever else."

"There's got to be some reason." Kai said.

"Maybe. I mean, this place is creepy on its own. Maybe Pence is right. Maybe it _is_ haunted."

"Don't be stupid. There's no such thing as a haunting."

Kaoru smiled at Rinally's scoff. "Maybe we should split up? We could search faster and see what we can find."

Reluctantly, Kai and Rinally agreed with Kaoru's plan, and they each separated to check out a different portion of the house. Since Rin was on the left, she continued through the left room; Kai and Kaoru went to the stairs, heading right and left, respectively. They took them two at a time, heading to the second floor.

What surprised Kaoru the most was that there were no extra rooms in the mansion. It seemed to consist only the front foyer, whatever room was on the left through the door there, and the two staircases that led to separate wings of the second floor. He followed the hallway around until he came to a closed door. He slowly opened it and discovered the only room that seemed to have seen any recent use. It reminded him of a meeting room, though he wasn't sure why a mansion would have a meeting room decorated all in white. It was filled only with a long white table and two white chairs, which were half pulled out, as if someone had been sitting in them had had gotten up suddenly. The big bay window overlooked the front courtyard and allowed sunlight to stream into the room through sheer white curtains. The walls had once been bright white, but had faded to egg-shell by the bright light that streamed through the window. The only flaw they had were evenly-spaced, brighter-white, square spots, as if something had once hung there long enough to keep the spaces pure white.

Kaoru ran his fingers over those bright spots, feeling a little jolt of electricity run up his fingertips. In response, his armor materialized over his right shoulder and forearm, glowing bright with prismatic light. Though it was years old and much faded, Kaoru could almost see a glimmer of light in those bright squares. He recognized it as hope. Faded and old, but hope nonetheless.

He felt Kai coming toward him. When he thought about it, he really wasn't surprised. Kai was sensitive to him, after all. If he felt a flicker of distress from Kaoru, he would be at his side as fast as he could in order to either deal with the threat himself, or help Kaoru deal with the threat. Kaoru wasn't sure if he had felt distressed, but he sure had been surprised by the little jolt he'd received from the bright spaces on the wall. Still, he knew that he didn't want this room destroyed, which Kai might just do since he wasn't sure what kind of situation he was running into. So he headed for the door and opened it just as Kai appeared at the end of the hall. The redhead stopped halfway down the hall, staring at Kaoru. Kaoru smiled sheepishly and closed the door behind him.

"You okay?" Kai asked when Kaoru approached him. The redhead's green eyes flicked to the armor that encased Kaoru's right arm, then back to the door.

"I'm fine." Kaoru answered. "I didn't find anything important. Just something that made my armor react, that's all."

An elegant eyebrow rose almost to his hairline. Kai glanced at Kaoru's armor again, then nodded slowly, as if he accepted Kaoru's words at face value. "I felt..." he started. Then he stopped, tried to order his thoughts, and spoke again. "I felt a flux in you. I couldn't tell if it was surprise or fear. So I just..."

"I know."

Kai visibly relaxed. That's what he liked about Kaoru; the smaller boy always seemed to know what he was trying to say, especially when he couldn't get it out. He nodded. "Shall we go find Rin? I wasn't able to find anything on my side. Just more of the same. No one's been here for a long time, even if it _is_ really clean."

"It looks like, at one time, someone _did_ live here." Kaoru replied, falling into step with Kai. "But not for a long time. And Pence and Hayner said that Sora searched this place from top to bottom but even he didn't find anything."

"I was thinking about that. He didn't find anything _he_ was looking for. We don't know what that was. But we know what we're looking for, right? We haven't found anything yet, but then, we haven't looked everywhere yet."

"What do you mean?"

Kai started descending the stairs with Kaoru on his heels. "I mean, this building is far too large to just be two floors. So there's either an attic, which you would have found while exploring upstairs, so I don't think there's one of those, or there's gotta be a basement."

"A basement?"

"Yeah. This big a building, I doubt all its weight could be sustained by just two floors without a strong foundation. And if anyone's going to hide, it would be in a secret room in the basement."

"You really think there's a secret room?"

Kai shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. If there is, Sora probably already searched it."

Kaoru made an agreeing noise. Just as they stepped off the stairs, Rinally appeared out of the left hand room, frowning. Her eyes brightened as she saw them and she hurried over to them.

"Did you find anything?" she asked.

"No." The boys answered simultaneously.

"Did you?" asked Kaoru.

Rin shook her head. "Just a dining room. It doesn't look like anything has been used and there's definitely nothing of use in there. I couldn't find any secret doors or anything like that. I tried, believe me. Did you have better luck?"

Kaoru shook his head. "All I found was a white room. It looks like it's the only room to really have been used, but not for a long, long time."

"And you, Kai?"

"Just a library."

Rin tapped her fingers against her lips. "It doesn't make any sense then. Why would Sora come search this place if this was all there was?"

"Like I said to Kaoru, there has to be a basement." Kai said. "This building is too big for there not to be a basement."

"Yeah, but I didn't find a door leading to a basement in the dining room." protested Rin. "And as you can see, there's no extra door around here."

"And I didn't find anything in the White Room." Kaoru said. "Not really." he added, when Kai looked at him sharply.

If Rin caught the look she said nothing about it. She said, "So there has to be a door somewhere."

Kai scowled. "But where would it be?"

"That's the thing, isn't it?" Rin tilted her head to the side for a long time, her eyes narrowed slightly. Both Kaoru and Kai thought about the question posed as well, trying to figure out what they had missed.

 _I've taken the time to hide something and I don't want anyone to find it. So where would I put it? I only have a few choices._ Kaoru thought, turning halfway to look upstairs at the hall behind him. _I've got a dining room, a white room, and the library. Someone would definitely search the dining room for valuables if nothing else. They could find the door inadvertently. Same with the white room. So that leaves..._ "The library." he said abruptly.

"What?" Rin and Kai said at the same time.

Kaoru looked toward them. "The library. Think about it. If I wanted everyone to be able to access the basement, I would have put in a door that makes it easily accessible. But I didn't. That means I wanted to hide something. The dining room would be searched from top to bottom in an instant. So would the white room. But the library wouldn't."

Understanding dawned in Rin's eyes. "I get it. If I were a thief, I wouldn't give the library a second look. I mean, who in their right mind would want to carry around books that wouldn't be easy to fence, if be fence-able at all."

Kai made a soft noise. "If there's a secret passage, it'll be there. It's protected because it would be easily overlooked."

"Exactly." Kaoru said, beaming. He turned to start taking the right hand stairs as fast as he could. Rinally and Kai were right behind him.

The three raced through the hall as fast as they dared, entering into the library. It was much as they had expected, filled with books of every shape and size and title and subject. They ignored all of it, pushing against bookshelves and tapping against the walls in hopes of finding a secret passage. It wasn't a big library, and so they exhausted their options pretty quickly. Kaoru wandered toward the stairs and ran his fingers alongside them, trying to feel for anything that seemed out of place, like that little spark of hope he'd felt in the White Room. It was a long shot, he knew, but it was all they had at this point. He especially didn't want to return to Hayner, Pence, and Olette without something to tell them.

He stepped close to the north wall and felt something shift under his feet. It wasn't exactly the spark he'd felt before that raced up through his shoes, but it was something curious. So he stepped back and knelt on the ground, running his fingers over the space where the floor had shifted. When he felt the jolt this time, he actually yelped, which brought both Kai and Rin running to his side. Kaoru sat back on his heels and rubbed his fingers, which tingled and tickled like they would if he'd gotten an electrical shock. Kai knelt beside him after making sure Kaoru was okay, then hovered his hand above the floor. He hissed softly and snatched his hand back.

"You felt it too?" Kaoru asked.

"Light. It burned." Kai spat, rubbing the palm of his hand. "I've never felt anything like that before."

Rinally knelt on Kaoru's other side and reached for the floor. She flinched but didn't draw her hand away. "There's something under here." she said.

It took all three of them to lift up the trap door. As soon as they got it up, they found a staircase that descended into the darkness below. Summoning Guardian, Kaoru took the lead to provide a little light for them all to see by. Rin followed him down first, with Kai bringing up the rear. Sanctuary was in his hand, emitting its own soft dark light in response to Guardian. Kaoru's heart was hammering in his chest as he continued down. They had finally found something that might be of use.

When they hit the floor, halogen lights flickered on. The lights revealed a giant computer in a rather small room with only a single door leading out, besides the stairs that led back up to the library. It was clear that this room hadn't been used in a number of years, and there was actually more dust in this room than there had been in the mansion upstairs. But they could see where someone had walked. There were three separate sets of tracks, two larger and one smaller.

"Sora was in this room." Kaoru whispered, feeling that his voice was loud anyway in the silence.

"So were Riku and Kairi." Rinally said, pointing at the other tracks. "They must have come down here with him."

Kai approached the computer and studied the keyboard. "They accessed the computer. Or tried to." He reached to tap a few buttons, but the screen remained black and blank. "Looks like the power got cut off."

Kaoru followed the tracks back to another door and pushed it open. The short hall led into an open room that was a huge square that only had one other hall leading off it. He felt Kai and Rin at his back and they continued into that hall, following it to the end. It was a dead end.

"This feels... silly." Rin said at last.

"We've searched everywhere at this point." Kai said, a complaining note to his voice. "There's nothing to find. That, or Sora found it already. I don't see any point in staying here. Let's go back. We'll go back to Hayner, Pence, and Olette, let them know what we didn't find, and then we'll go get on a gummi ship and head to Radiant Garden."

Kaoru stepped close to the wall at the end of the hall and lifted his hand to press it against the wall. It wasn't fair, he thought. It wasn't fair that they had come so far only to hit the same dead end Sora must have. He didn't know the history Sora had with this place, or what exactly had driven him to search this place, but there must have been something important for Sora to come here. He and Riku and Kairi had been down into the basement. They had been in the computer room, had come down this hallway. There had to be a reason why they had come down this far into the mansion. It wasn't just to hit this dead end and turn around again.

"Kaoru." Kai put his hand on the little blonde's shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

"Yeah." Kaoru said lamely. He pushed away from the wall and turned to follow Kai and Rin back into the basement room. He glanced back longingly, as if blaming that wall for stopping him in his tracks.

He jerked to a stop as he saw her. Kai and Rin continued for a few feet more before they realized Kaoru wasn't following them. Kaoru's eyes went wide as he watched her glide toward him, and he reached out for her, whispering, "Tae?"

His fingers went right through her. Tae ghosted right _through_ Kaoru, making him jerk in surprise. He spun around and watched her ghostly form stop at the wall, look up and to the left as if she was looking at someone beside her, and then glance backwards toward Kaoru.

"Tae!" Kaoru yelled, hurrying after her despite the fact there was a solid wall at the end of the hall. The ghostly image of his best friend slid through the wall.

And then, so did he.


	34. Chapter 34

Thirty-Three - Twilight Town

Kaoru hit the ground on his chest and stomach and cracked his chin into the floor. He curled up immediately, clutching at his face as pain radiated through his body. Rinally was immediately at his side, clutching his shoulder. Cool healing magic washed through him, easing the hurt and healing the small scrape on his chin. She helped him to his knees, and then helped him to stand. She looked into his eyes, her expression worried.

Kaoru gripped her tightly. "I saw her, Rin! I saw Tae!"

"Kaoru..." Rin started.

He looked past her to Kai. The redhead was staring at him with an odd expression, as if he couldn't quite decide if Kaoru was crazy or not. "You saw her, didn't you?" Kaoru asked, desperate.

Kai's green eyes narrowed slightly. "I didn't see anything but you rushing through the wall."

Kaoru shivered. Was he really the only one to have seen Tae's shade? He looked away from Kai, unable to stand being looked at like he was crazy. He didn't dare look at Rinally, quite sure she was looking at him with a similar expression or at least one of pity. He stared at the floor beneath his hands and watched it waver as tears filled his eyes. He blinked them back, took a deep, steadying breath, and pushed himself up to stand.

"Kaoru..." Rin started.

He shook off her hand. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Rinally scowled. "I've been with you from the beginning, idiot. I know when you're faking it. You really saw her, didn't you? Didn't you?"

Kaoru looked up at her, then nodded slowly. "She came through here. She was _here_."

"I believe you." Rin said. She turned away from Kaoru, looking back at the way they had come. "Looks like this was a hidden room. It was strange that the hallway looked so short."

Kai moved past Kaoru and began to explore the room. After a moment, Kaoru followed him, as did Rinally. The room was square, and much larger than it seemed to be. There were three apparatuses that looked like lotus-shaped cocoons standing empty in one part of the room. They were worn and dusty with age, the glass cracked by years of disuse. Kaoru circled one, reaching out to touch it with his fingertips as gently as he dared. He passed Kai at one point, as the redhead circled one of the other cocoons, and glanced into Kai's eyes. Kai returned the look, but his face remained expressionless. Before they separated, Kai reached to catch Kaoru's hand and pull him to a stop.

Kaoru looked up at Kai, unsure of what the redhead wanted. Kai continued to stare down at him for a minute, then he reached to brush his thumb against Kaoru's chin, where he still sported a faint bruise.

"This girl," Kai started, "Tae. She's someone you're looking for?"

"Yeah." Kaoru replied softly. "She's my best friend. Almost like a sister. She's also a Princess of Heart, or at least she was. I... I don't know what I saw, Kai. I don't know if it was an image of her or just something my heart dredged up, but... I felt it was real." Kaoru looked down at the floor and pressed his fist against his heart.

Kai's hand covered Kaoru's. "I believe you."

Kaoru looked up at him. "You're not just saying that because Rin said it, are you?"

Kai scoffed. "Of course not. I didn't see what you saw, but that doesn't mean I don't think you didn't see it. You..." He stopped and ran a hand through his hair, as if the gesture would help him figure out his words. "You're special, you know that? I've never met anyone like you before. The things you can do, the things you can inspire in people... You're like a natural-born leader, even if you don't think so."

"But you thought I was crazy."

"For a minute, yeah."

Kaoru stared up at Kai, his lips a thin line. "Does it hurt you to be kind, Kai?"

Kai's eyes narrowed in a scowl, hearing the snappish tone in Kaoru's words. "Shut up."

"I'm serious." Kaoru persisted. He couldn't understand why Kai said something nice and then, when given the opportunity to lie just to spare his feelings, didn't. And so, being angry and hurt and wanting to lash out, Kaoru snapped at the one person he wasn't afraid of provoking. "Does it make you die a little inside when you compliment people, so you have to say something mean to keep the status quo?"

Kai growled and pushed himself away from Kaoru for a moment, pacing away from him with every line of his body trembling with frustration and anger. Then he came back, pushed Kaoru up against one of the cocoons, and caged him within his arms. Their faces were so close that their noses were almost touching. "Being kind," Kai bit out, "isn't one of my strengths. I was _trying_ to make you feel better. To show I really do care about you. I'm... I'm not good at this sort of crap, and you're making fun of me for it!"

"What are you two doing over there? You better not be making out!"

Kaoru caught Kai's arm before the redhead summoned Sanctuary and went to club Rinally with it. Kai looked at him sharply, as if he was considering braining Kaoru with his Keyblade instead. Kaoru felt a blush creeping across his cheeks and couldn't bring himself to meet Kai's eyes. So he simply said, "I'm sorry."

Kai's body remained rigid for a moment before it finally relaxed. Sanctuary glimmered before it vanished. Kai turned back to face Kaoru and placed his hand gently under Kaoru's chin to tilt the smaller boy's head up so their eyes met. Kai studied Kaoru's face for a minute. Then he said, "I believe you."

Kaoru felt his cheeks burn more. If Kai noticed, he didn't say anything, but he continued to stare at Kaoru for a long moment. Then he leaned down and hesitated, his lips hovering so close to Kaoru's that Kaoru could feel their heat against his own skin. Their eyes never broke the gaze they shared the entire time, but then Kai blinked and he drew back, leaving the air between him and Kaoru electrified and awkward.

Kaoru looked away from Kai, unsure of what to say. He was saved from it, either by chance or divine grace, when he spotted something glittering by one of the lotus-cocoons. He pulled out of Kai's grip and hurried over to it, crouching down to grasp it in his hand. Kai followed a second after, and he heard Rinally approaching as well. He stood with the object clutched in his fist, uncertain if he wanted to look at it. If he did, he feared it would confirm something that he didn't want to know as fact. Or, he feared it would mean something far worse than he could imagine.

He turned to face his friends, his closed fist held up between them. Kai and Rinally stared down at Kaoru's hand expectantly. Slowly, Kaoru opened his fingers and the three stared down at the delicate silver chain coiled in his palm. The clasp was broken, as if it had been ripped off Tae's neck. The charm, the one that came in three pieces, was bent, as if someone had grabbed the necklace by the charm and squeezed far too hard. The metal was still charged with Tae's light, a familiar and comforting presence that made Kaoru's heart relax. This was real. He wasn't imagining this.

"Kaoru, whose is this?" Rinally asked.

"It's Tae's." Kaoru replied. His voice sounded thick. Was he going to start crying again? He swallowed heavily, trying to keep the sadness at bay. "I made it for her. For her birthday. She was wearing it when Paradise City disappeared."

Kai reached out toward Kaoru's palm, then snatched his hand back with a hiss. Both Rin and Kaoru looked at him, concerned and confused. He shook his hand out, as if he'd gotten an electrical shock and was trying to get feeling back into his fingers. "It's full of light. Powerful light, and pure. She really is a Princess of Heart, huh?"

Kaoru nodded. He closed his fingers around the charm and felt the metal dig into his skin. "She didn't part with this willingly. Someone ripped this off her. Tae was here."

"What did you see, Kaoru?" Kai asked. "What exactly did you see?"

Kaoru inhaled softly and told his friends what he'd seen. He spoke about the exact movements of Tae's apparition, how she had entered this room willingly, but beyond that, he didn't know. When he finished, Kai had a thoughtful look on his face, and Rin had folded her arms over her chest, her lips turned down into a frown.

"It's obvious," Rin started, "she trusted whoever she was with. It had to be someone she knew."

"Either someone she's known for a long time, or someone she recently met." Kai added.

"But she wouldn't part with this." Kaoru lifted his fist slightly to indicate the necklace. "Not willingly."

"Which means it's the former." Kai concluded. At Kaoru's confused look, he added, "Only someone Tae's known for a long time would know she had that necklace. Only that person would know how important it was to her. There was a reason it was taken from her, a reason why it was ripped off her so violently."

Understanding dawned on Kaoru and he looked back at his closed fist. "Because the person knew who had given it to her."

"Right." Kai said. He pointed at Kaoru's fist. "If I were trying to hide her, and I knew that she had something from the very person I was trying to hide her from, I'd be afraid that it could be used as a tracking device. I'd worry that the person might be able to home in on it and find her."

"Kaoru?" Rin asked. "Do you know who might be with her?"

Kaoru nodded. His throat felt tight. It hurt when he spoke. "Hiromu. He's the only person, besides me, who knew Tae had this necklace. He's the only one she would trust. But... but I can't believe he would do this... I can't believe he would hurt her, or try to stop me from finding her."

His friends were silent for a long time. He didn't want to look up at them. He didn't want to see the expressions on their faces. He wasn't sure what he would see there - pity, probably - but it wouldn't help his self-control, which wasn't doing very well on its own anyway. Between the earlier disappointment of not finding anything in the rest of the mansion, then seeing Tae's ghost, then Kai's almost-kiss, and now this, Kaoru wasn't sure if it would take much more before he broke down completely like Rinally had when they first arrived in Twilight Town.

"We'll find him." Kai said, his deep voice booming. He reached out and gripped Kaoru's shoulder tightly, making the smaller boy look up into his eyes. "We'll find Hiromu, and we'll find Tae, and we'll get an answer out of him."

Rinally moved to Kaoru's other side and draped her arm over his shoulders. She gave him a tight hug. "Kai's right. We'll get to the bottom of this. We'll find Hiromu and Tae, and if need be, Kai and I can hold Hiromu while you punch."

Despite himself, Kaoru laughed. "I hope it doesn't come to that."

"But if it does."

"Tae wouldn't let it happen."

"She might, if she's a smart girl." Rin winked at him.

Kaoru smiled. It didn't last long as another thought occurred to him. "How, exactly, are we going to locate him? It's not like we can get on a gummi ship and ask the pilot to take us around every single world in hopes they'll be on one of them."

"We won't use gummi ships." Kai held out his hand, palm up. "Give me her necklace. I have an idea."

Kaoru hesitated, unsure if he wanted to give up Tae's necklace so readily, especially since he didn't know what Kai's plan was. But he gently dropped the silver chain and bent charm into Kai's waiting hand. "Don't lose it," he said softly.

"I won't." Kai released Kaoru's shoulder and took two steps back. "If we're right, Hiromu believed that this was your key to finding Tae, and that's why he took it off her."

"So what makes you think you can find her with it?" Rinally asked.

"Darkness naturally seeks out light, right? So, in theory, I should be able to sense where any powerful light might be. With Tae's necklace, I'll be able to focus exactly on her light to the exclusion of all else, even Kaoru's. If I can do that, _if_ , I might be able to open a Path directly to her."

Kaoru felt a budding of hope begin to flicker in his heart. "Do you really think you can do that?"

Kai nodded. "I'm pretty sure I can do it. But we're going to have to do it right away. Even though this feels powerful still, it's an old trail. Maybe since before Sora came here."

"Do you need anything?" Rinally asked.

Kai shook his head. "Just this and quiet. And you might want to stand behind me. I don't know what's going to happen."

Kaoru and Rinally did as Kai asked, moving to stand behind Kai and give him room to work. Kaoru stood behind him on his left while Rin stood on his right. Both glanced at each other, nervous and unsure if Kai's plan would even work. And if it did, where would they end up? Kai's shoulders rose and fell as he inhaled deeply and let it out. Kaoru watched as Kai clenched his fist around Tae's necklace, imagining that Kai had closed his eyes to be able to concentrate on feeling out Tae's light. Silence reigned for long minutes, broken only by soft breathing and the rustle of clothing as one of the three shifted. Then, perhaps thirty minutes into Kai's attempt, something began to happen.

Tendrils of darkness began to smoke up from the floor about five feet in front of them. They snaked around in the air, dancing around as if propelled by an invisible wind. They climbed higher and higher, multiplying by twos and threes until there stood a giant swirling mass of darkness before the three of them. Then Kai approached the darkness, and thrust the hand that held Tae's necklace into the darkness. Kaoru's heart leaped into his throat, afraid that Kai was going to be hurt, and afraid that Tae's necklace would be ruined. Still, he didn't move, trusting Kai to know what he was doing. Slowly, Kai pulled his hand out of the darkness, and as he did, the portal began to ripple and open, revealing a violet-hued path leading into a deeper, darker place.

Kai turned to look at Kaoru and Rinally, his eyes glowing black and gold. He held up his hand, letting Tae's necklace dangle from his fingers. "I think I've got it. Ready?"

Kaoru reached to take hold of Tae's necklace and held it tightly in his hand. Then he reached up to tie the chain around his headphones, knowing it was likely the only place where it would be safe, and he would never lose it. "I'm ready."

Rinally nodded. "Me too."

"Then let's go." Kai turned back to the portal and headed into the Paths Between with Rin and Kaoru at his back.


	35. Chapter 35

Thirty-Four - Halloween Town

The world they entered was dressed in deep blacks and purples and whites and oranges, and there was a feeling of festivity despite the creepy overtones. Kaoru looked around at the field where the portal had deposited them, looking up at the curling hillside and the giant, bright face of the moon beyond. The bottom of the hill was dotted with headstones, and the entire place was surrounded by a stone wall topped with a wrought-iron fencing. Kaoru watched his breath steam in the air for a minute, shivering as the cold crept into his skin.

"Ah! My clothes!"

Kaoru turned at Rinally's cry, his eyes going wide at the girl's change in appearance. Instead of wearing her usual outfit of a purple skirt and white tank top, she was wearing a lacy black dress with a wide poofy skirt that came to her mid-thigh. There was about four or five inches of bare skin before the lacy black stockings began, trailing down her legs before disappearing into black heeled boots. The top of the black dress was sleeveless but wound around her neck. Her arms were covered by long black gloves and atop her head was a tiny tophat that had half a spider-web veil draping down over the left side of her head. Rinally gripped the corners of her skirt and spread them out as she twisted left and right, staring with wide eyes at her new outfit.

Then she looked at Kaoru with an expression of utter disbelief. "Your clothes changed too!" Rin cried.

"I think all our clothes have changed." Kai said. He spread his arms slightly, allowing to them to see his new outfit. Like Rin, he was dressed in all black. It looked like Kai had been dressed to go to a wedding, or a funeral. He wore black suit pants and a short suit jacket that flickered violet in the right light. His shirt was also pitch black, tucked into his waistband so neatly Kaoru wondered if Kai could even move comfortably. Kai's red hair had been partially pulled back into a tail, and his eyes had become black and gold, just as they did when they were on the Paths or when he was wielding Darkness in some way.

Kaoru looked down at himself. He still wore his cargo pants, which had been black to begin with, but they now sported rips and tears as if he had crawled through a forest of scissors. His sneakers had become boots, which were missing the laces and instead were held in place by enterprising spiderwebs. His hooded jacket had morphed into a twin-tailed coat that was laced up the front and left open just under his clavicle. The sleeves of the jacket had been slashed to wispy tatters that floated as if they were smoke rather than cloth, and his hands were covered by fingerless gloves that tied with blood red ribbon at his wrists. And, like Rin, he sported a tophat upon his hair, only it was skewed to one side and was tied with another blood red ribbon. His headphones were still around his neck, along with Tae's necklace.

"Why?" Rin asked. "What was wrong with our normal clothes? _Who_ changed our clothes?"

"I don't know." Kaoru answered honestly. "Maybe it's a power of the world. You know, so we fit in?"

"But it didn't do that on Belle's world."

"Maybe it didn't need to." Kaoru answered. "I mean, we ended up in the middle of the woods then. There was nobody around to see us."

"There's nobody around to see us now." Kai pointed out. Kaoru nodded, agreeing.

"I mean," Rin started, "the outfits are cute. I just feel like a doll. Just look at this dress! At least you two look like you're somewhat normal."

Kai snorted. "I'm wearing a suit."

"You look like a vampire."

Kai looked at Kaoru sharply, his eyes narrowing as if he wasn't sure if Kaoru was trying to compliment him or not. Kaoru smiled, feeling his cheeks heat a little bit. He pointed a finger at Kai's mouth. "You have fangs. You look like a vampire."

Kai scowled even more. "It beats looking like a gothic Lolita I guess. Or whatever you're supposed to be."

Rin made a noise of disappointment, but Kaoru just smiled.

Kai shook his head. "Let's find out where we are. We were brought here for a reason. If this is the world the Paths led us after I opened the way with Tae's necklace, then she's got to be here."

Kaoru tried to keep from beaming, knowing that the ember of hope he kept burning in his heart would only be crushed if he let himself get too eager. "Right." he said. "Let's see if we can find a town."

They explored the little graveyard and the hill area until they managed to find a mausoleum that led into another area. It was a straight path from there to another headstone that led into a walled and gated path that finally deposited them into the main square of a town that looked perpetually trapped on the cusp of Halloween. Kaoru stared at the pumpkin-headed lampposts, at the ghosts that flitted from here and there, and the twisting wrought-iron decorations that dotted fences, walls, and houses. But like all the other towns they had entered before, there weren't any people around. The only noise came from the well that sat in the middle of the square, the laughter of invisible ghosts, or the occasional howling cry that came from somewhere far away.

As Rinally went forward into the square to examine a Jack o' Lantern that sat on a lonely step, Kaoru moved closer to Kai and whispered, "You really do look good, you know. A lot more sophisticated than me."

Kai's shoulders tensed slightly, but when he turned to look at Kaoru, there was a warmth and pleasure in his eyes that Kaoru rarely saw. "You look cute." Kai replied, his deep voice a mere night whisper. "It suits you, for some reason. The black brings out your eyes. I never really noticed how bright they were before."

Kaoru blushed and looked away from Kai. Since the redhead didn't pursue his comment with another, Kaoru figured Kai had said all he was going to say. But when he looked back at his friend, Kai was still studying him with those gold and black eyes, his expression completely blank. "Kai, I-" Kaoru started.

"Guys!" Rin called. "Guys, I found something!"

Kaoru swallowed the words he'd been about to say and hurried over to where Rinally knelt behind the Jack o' Lantern. Kai was right behind him. Rinally's hands hovered over a bundle of gossamer white cloth that undulated with invisible wind. The soft green glow of healing magic emanated from her palms, sending the energy into the little white thing. Kaoru crouched beside her and stared down at the little thing, trying to figure out what it was. Kai stood over them with his arms crossed over his chest, his lips turned down into a slight frown. Then the white thing shivered and shook, as if it was waking up, and Rin let out a yelp as the creature surged up suddenly.

Kaoru stared in shock at the... "Is it a dog?" he asked no one in particular. The little white creature opened its doggy mouth and let its tongue loll out in an apparently pleased smile.

"It can't be a dog." Kai said. "It doesn't have any feet."

"Maybe it's a ghost dog?" Rin asked.

Kaoru canted his head to one side, studying the ghost dog. It looked as if it was nothing more than a white handkerchief given substance by an invisible breeze. A collar wound around its neck, and it had big, deep, empty eye-sockets and long floppy ears. Its snout was tipped by a red bulb of a nose that almost seemed to glow. It certainly seemed happy to see them, floating round and round in little circles. "Well, if it's a ghost dog, it certainly explains a few things." he said at last.

The dog gave a little yip and began to circle Rinally's head. It paused over her shoulder and nuzzled close to her cheek. Rinally shivered but laughed, lifting her hands to cuddle the ghost dog against her. "He's so cute! I wonder who his owner is."

"He's a ghost. He can't have an owner." Kai said blandly. Kaoru suppressed a smile. Apparently, Kai didn't share the same feelings Rin did about the ghost dog.

Rinally snorted. "Of course he has an owner. He's a dog."

"He's a ghost."

"He's still a dog."

Kai looked at Kaoru with a helpless expression. Kaoru shrugged. "If he has an owner, maybe he can take us to them."

The little ghost dog wriggled out of Rinally's hands and floated toward Kaoru, twirling in circles around Kaoru's head with a big tongue-lolling grin on its snout.

"Is he saying he can do that?" Rin asked. In response to her question, the little dog twirled around Kaoru's head again before pointing his nose in the direction of the other end of town.

Kaoru grinned. "Looks that way. Lead the way then!"

The ghost dog made a soft sound that could be taken for an affirmative bark before darting off in the direction he'd pointed in. Behind him, Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally gave chase, trying to keep the little ghost dog in sight as they hurried through the town. The ghost led them to an old house that stood slightly apart from the other buildings in the town. It was old and decrepit, and it looked like it was starting to fall apart in some places. The ghost sped up the stairs that led into the house and passed right through the door. Kaoru came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, panting. Behind him, Rinally and Kai stopped as well, trying to catch their breaths.

"So," Kai asked, "do we follow?"

"We _did_ ask him to take us to his owner." Kaoru replied. He started up the stairs, mounting one and then the other, until he was standing before the door. He raised his fist to knock.

The door was yanked open suddenly and the ghost dog flew into Kaoru's face, making him flinch backwards. His arms pinwheeled for a minute as his balance became upset. He could feel himself tilting backwards, farther and farther until he started to fall. He was caught by a long-fingered hand by the laces on the front of his coat and held tightly at an awkward angle. Kaoru stared at the hand's owner in shock. The man - Kaoru guessed it was a man - looked like the furthest thing from a normal human being. Not a scrap of flesh was visible, instead all of his limbs being pure white bone covered only by pin-striped cloth. Even his head was a macabre, white interpretation of a Jack o' Lantern's wide grin. Giant black holes were where eyeballs should have been, but Kaoru didn't doubt for a second that the man could see him. There was an expression of pure surprise on that skeleton face, and his bony lips had formed a small 'o' that clearly animated his shock at finding guests upon his doorstep.

Then Kai was at Kaoru's back, all but tearing him from the stranger's grasp and pulling Kaoru down behind him. Kai's hand curled tightly around Kaoru's upper arm, not quite a painful grip, but hard enough that Kaoru wasn't going anywhere without fighting the redhead first. Sanctuary was pointed at the skeleton man's throat, the dark Keyblade gleaming in the faint light.

"Oh!" exclaimed the skeleton man. "A Keyblade?"

Kai's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "You recognize that?"

The skeleton man blinked and focused on Kai. "Of course I do. Although, it doesn't look like Sora's, now does it?"

"You know Sora?" Kaoru blurted, drawing the skeleton man's eyes to him.

Those fleshless lips split into a wide grin. "Do I know Sora? Of course I know Sora! He's helped me out of a bind on occasion. He's saved Halloween Town plenty of times, too. Of course, he hasn't come around lately. Has he, Zero?" The little ghost dog, Zero, apparently, floated around the man's head in evident joy. He did a few little backflips, then quickly sped toward Rinally and slipped over her shoulder, through her hair, and then came back up to rest atop her tophat. The skeleton man laughed brightly. "Looks like Zero likes you!"

Kaoru looked back at Rin and smiled. She looked bright and happy as Zero rested atop her head, her magenta eyes sparkling as she looked up at the wispy white cloth that made up Zero's body. Then Kaoru looked up at the skeleton man. "This is Halloween Town?"

The skeleton nodded. "That it is. So, did Sora send you here? I hadn't thought he was taking on apprentices." He looked at Kai from head to toe and back up again. "Or maybe you're Riku's apprentice? You certainly have that same seriousness in your face."

Kai scowled. "No one sent us here. If anything _I_ brought us here."

" _You?_ "

"Yeah, me."

"He opened up a path from the world we were on to here." Kaoru explained. "You see, we're looking for someone, and she might be here, on this world. Have you seen a girl about my height, with brown hair, dressed in white?"

The skeleton man shook his head. "No, haven't seen anyone like that. Not a girl, anyway." He focused on Kai again. "You opened up a path, huh? You must be pretty powerful. Riku can do it, or so Sora told me; I've never seen it myself."

Kaoru made a soft, frustrated sound. "Mister, have you seen someone like us? If not a girl, then a boy? He'd be taller than me, maybe as tall as Kai, and big-boned."

"My name is Jack. Jack Skellington, not 'mister'. You shouldn't go around calling strangers 'mister'. Get to know them. Learn their names. Give them yours." Jack admonished.

"Sorry." Kaoru took a deep breath to try and calm his frustration. "My name is Kaoru. This is Kai, and she's Rinally. Please, if there's anything you know, could you please tell us? It's really important that we find these people."

Jack put a bony finger to his chin and considered Kaoru's words for some time. "Well, I don't know if he's the one you're looking for, but there was a boy that came here oh, about a few days ago. I don't know if he was taller than you; he was skulking around town at the time, and had this scowl on his face that scared the kids. It was marvelous. I approached him because I wanted to get a few tips on skulking and scowling from him, since he seemed to a professional. He snapped at me, and told me to mind my own business, that he was here on an important mission and he didn't have the time to deal with the local wildlife. _That_ got me angry, of course, because it was entirely impolite. After I told him that, he scoffed and headed toward Oogie Boogie's abandoned mansion on the outskirts of town. I warned him that he shouldn't go there. It's dangerous, after all, what with all the Heartless infesting it, but he just ignored me."

Kaoru looked at Kai, and the redhead narrowed his eyes and gave a slight nod. Kaoru looked up at Jack. "Thanks, Jack. We'll check it out."

Jack caught Kaoru's arm, halting him from bouncing down the stairs. Kai, who had already descended, paused and turned back, a threatening glare in his eyes. Jack's empty eye sockets bored Kaoru's, and the skeleton man leaned close to the blond-haired boy. "There was something wrong with that boy, you know. I've been around the block a time or two with Heartless and Darkness and Light, and I know the feeling of someone who's been tainted with Darkness. Be careful, Kaoru."

Kaoru eased his arm out of Jack's grip. "I will."

Jack nodded, then he looked toward Rin. "I think Zero's going to go with you. He'll keep an eye out for you."

Rinally smiled. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to have someone who can run and get help if we're in a pinch, huh?"

Zero made a yipping noise that sounded eerily like the wind. Jack grinned, with the dark pits of his eyes slightly closing in his mirth. "Keep a good eye on them, Zero!"

As they walked away from Jack's house with Zero, the ghost dog lifted himself from Rinally's tophat and began to float in front of them, keeping close but clearly leading the way out of Halloween Town and into the field beyond where the three of them had first arrived. The moon still glowed full and bright behind the curling hill, throwing everything into ghostly shadow. The headstones scattered about the field looked ominous in the pale light, and every once in a while, Kaoru caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Except whenever he turned his head to look, the something would be gone. He wasn't sure if he was going crazy or if something was actually there, and just teasing him with flashing glimpses.

As they neared another part of that central area, Zero darted through a headstone, reappearing on the other side before zooming up the curling hill. He reached the top and danced around a bit, drifting back and forth as if he were riding a breeze. Then he returned a scant second later, dancing around Rinally, then Kaoru, and lastly Kai, before returning to that hill and flying all the way to the top. He continued to dance around, floating in circles and giving little ghost barks as if to encourage the three to follow him. Taking a deep breath, Kaoru summoned Guardian and headed after the ghost dog with Kai and Rin at his back. As he stepped foot on the top of the curling hill, the hill began to shift and move, stretching out beyond the fence that encircled the area. Zero darted forward, tongue lolling out of his mouth, and Kaoru followed, trying not to be afraid of what might be on the other side.


	36. Chapter 36

Thirty-Five - Halloween Town

The three dropped down onto a wide plateau that overlooked a deep chasm. A lonely bridge spanned the chasm, leading to an oddly placed tree house that looked like it had seen better days. It was falling apart in some places, and in others it looked like it had been blasted apart by some great battle. Kaoru stared at it, feeling apprehensive. The atmosphere in this area had changed completely from the area before. There was an odd cloud of impotent rage hanging over the chasm. Impotent rage, combined with black depression and eerie stillness. It made Kaoru's heart flutter a little in an unpleasant way. He was glad he had Guardian in hand, and Kai and Rin at his back with their own weapons at the ready.

"This is really, really creepy," Rinally whispered, her voice seeming loud in the stillness.

Kai's hand tightened on Sanctuary. "Something isn't right. I can't feel anything. No light, no darkness, nothing. There's just absolute stillness."

Kaoru turned slightly to take in a semi-panoramic view of where he stood. The entire area was bathed in pale moonlight, making everything look washed out in greys and shadowy white. There was nothing moving. He wasn't sure if there was anything alive out here, this far from town. "I don't sense anything either, but... but there's got to be something here. Jack said the boy came out here."

Zero twisted around in the air and fluttered around Kaoru. Then he wriggled in a figure eight before zooming over to Rinally and settling again on her head. He opened his mouth in a doggy grin and pointed his nose toward the bridge and the house beyond.

"Looks like we're going forward." Kaoru said. He started toward the bridge, holding Guardian in a tight fist. The gold and white Keyblade seemed to gleam even in the moon-washed landscape, like a tiny star struggling to stay alight.

As they grew closer to the tree house, Kaoru began to feel his heart pick up its pace. It thudded in his ears, a loud drumbeat he was sure that everyone else could hear. Yet his body hadn't flooded with adrenaline, nor had his breathing increased. It was like his body knew something his mind didn't know, and was trying to tell him what that something was. He hoped that whatever he was sensing was resonance with Tae, and that she was here. If she was, then Hiromu was here. He didn't want to believe that Hiromu was the one who had hurt Tae, who had ripped her necklace off, who had essentially kidnapped her when Sora had arrived in Twilight Town, and who had been the boy who had snapped at Jack. He couldn't believe that Hiromu would have become so angry, not without reason, anyway. He couldn't believe that Hiromu could hurt Tae in any way. He knew that Hiromu loved Tae, and he would do anything to protect her, but he didn't think that Hiromu would stoop the low of scaring her or hurting her in order to keep her safe.

Kaoru stopped at the bridge, still standing on the plateau. Behind him, Kai and Rinally took up positions on his left and right respectively, watching the angles that Kaoru couldn't. Kaoru's heart finally stopped hammering, resuming its normal beat. He wasn't sure what that meant, but he was definitely sure he was still sensing that strangeness that had made it start hammering in the first place. There was something wrong about this place. Something inherently wrong.

"Are we going?" Kai asked, his voice soft.

Kaoru looked up at him. "We have to."

"Do you want me to go first?"

Kaoru shook his head. "No. I... I can handle it."

"We'll be right behind you." Rinally said, a tiny smile on her lips.

Kaoru nodded and started across the bridge. It wasn't large enough for them to travel side by side, so they had to walk single file. Kaoru could feel Kai at his back, a dark presence that was teeming with as much violence as he was with compassion. Sanctuary flickered in and out of Kaoru's peripheral, glowing with its own light in response to Guardian's ambient glow. Both Keyblades seemed muted, and their diffuse halos of light began to dim suddenly, as if there was something ahead that was sucking all the light out of the two weapons and leaving them as simple, mundane swords rather than the powerful blades they were. Kaoru stepped off the bridge and immediately brought Guardian up before him, inhaling sharply as his Holy Shield flickered into existence between him and the strange looking Heartless that sought to take his head off.

Kaoru reacted almost instinctively once his Shield dropped. He ducked low and twisted, Guardian's hilt tucked close by his hip, and the Keyblade howled through the space between him and the Heartless and caught the monster in its chest, making it crumple in half around Guardian's blade before sending it flying away. Then Rinally snapped off a Thundara spell, illuminating the entire area in bright golden light before the bolt caught the Heartless and blew it into little motes of darkness that drifted away into nothingness. Kaoru stared, shocked, unable to comprehend for a second that the Heartless had managed to get so close before attacking. Then he realized that it had gotten so close because he was distracted. He was so worried about finding Tae and Hiromu and making sure they were okay, making sure they weren't hurt, or anything else that would be terrible that he wasn't paying attention to the world around him.

Kai reached out and grasped Kaoru's shoulder. "Let me go first."

"Sure." Kaoru whispered, stepping aside to let Kai by. He felt terrible, because his distraction meant that his friends were in even more danger than usual. If he couldn't protect Rin and Kai, what good would he be when they finally found Hiromu and Tae?

Rinally moved up beside Kaoru and looked at him with a concerned expression. "Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

Kaoru shook his head.

"You haven't been yourself since we found Tae's necklace."

"I know."

"You can't let it get to you. I'm worried about my sister and my parents too, just as much as you're worried about your friends. But you and Kai are the ones who need my attention."

"I know." Kaoru whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Rin smiled. "We're so close to finding the people you've been searching for that it's probably completely overwhelming. But Kai and I need you. You have to be focused, just like you were in all the worlds we've visited before."

Kaoru reached up to finger the charm on Tae's necklace for a minute, trying to draw strength from the feeling of light the piece of jewelry still possessed from its owner. "You're right. I know you are. But... I just can't help but feel like something's not right. I'm scared."

"Don't dwell on it." Kai said. He turned back to face Kaoru and Rinally, looking at Kaoru specifically. "Don't dwell on it until you have no choice. Focus on the right here, right now. You'll be fine as long as you do that."

Kaoru nodded, taking strength from Kai's words, or trying to, at least. It was hard to push away all the thoughts of finding Tae and Hiromu, the thoughts of uncertainty that they were even here, that the boy Jack had spoken of just might be Hiromu, but he did it. Somehow, he did it. Right now, they had to get into Oogie Boogie's mansion. After that, they had to actually find the boy Jack had spoken of, all the while surviving against the Heartless and whatever else might be lurking within that place. Then, when they finally found that boy, Kaoru could finally begin to worry again about Hiromu and Tae.

Kai studied him for a moment longer, then turned his back on his friends. "Let's go."

Kaoru and Rinally fell into step slightly behind Kai, allowing him to keep the lead. Kai seemed to know where he was going, holding tight to Sanctuary's hilt as he headed up to the front door of the mansion. The redhead placed his hand upon the door and gave it a slight push. The portal opened with the loudest of creaks Kaoru had ever heard, alerting everything that was inside the building that someone new was about to enter the place. Even Kai winced, but he held the door open anyway, Sanctuary held ready for an attack. When nothing came, he stuck his head over the threshold and looked around the place. Then he leaned back and looked at his friends.

"Nothing." Kai said. "The place looks completely abandoned."

Rinally stuck her head inside. "It looks like it's seen better days, for sure."

Kaoru leaned in, his hand braced on Rin's shoulder. The interior of the front hall looked dilapidated and was incredibly dusty. There were holes in the walls, floor, and ceiling, and there were questionable stains on them as well. Kaoru wasn't sure if he wanted to know what those stains were. There was a fine layer of dust on everything within sight, showing that no one had been here in some time. Kaoru pushed past his friends and stepped into the hallway, Guardian held low by his side. The Keyblade seemed to pulse with its own diffuse light as Kaoru took slow step after slow step deeper into the mansion. The short hall led into a myriad of other rooms, all of which were in the same state of decay. There was a set of stairs in one of the rooms that led up and in another there was a set that led down. He pointed those out to Kai and Rin.

"But I don't think it would be a good idea to split up." Kaoru said.

Rin entered the hallway ahead of Kai, and when Kai stepped away from the front door, the door slammed shut hard, almost making the wall rattle. Kai reached to pull on the knob, then he let out a pithy curse. He struck the door with Sanctuary in his frustration.

"I guess we're stuck." Rin said, correctly guessing their situation from Kai's glower of disdain toward the door. "Which means we can only go up or down."

Kai spun away from the door and stalked toward Kaoru. "We go up. It's easier to search up to down anyway. At least we'll know that, if there _is_ anyone here, they can't get past us."

"Unless there's a door downstairs that will let them escape." Rin pointed out.

"Unless there's that."

Kaoru looked toward the stairs leading up. "Even if there is a door leading outside, we should be able to see them run from a window. Kai would be able to catch up first, especially if he uses Nightmare Raid to enhance his speed. He could stall them until we could catch up."

"I think I have Float spells. Aero might work too, if we had to jump." Rinally added.

Kaoru nodded and looked at Kai. "What do you think?"

Kai smirked. "I think we'd better start looking."

Together, they headed toward the staircase that led upwards. In a staggered line, they mounted the stairs one at a time, checking each floor they came to as thoroughly as they could. There were the usual Heartless, including more of the strange-looking Heartless that had originally attacked Kaoru outside. Now that he could get a good look at them, he noticed that they looked like some sort of huge spider, with long spindly legs and four bright, butter-yellow eyes that constantly rotated in their sockets, almost like how a chameleon's could. They had fangs hanging out of drooping mouths and thick, almost chitinous armor that covered their backs. That armor made them harder to kill, because Sanctuary and Guardian would simply bounce off it without dealing much damage. It took the Kai and Kaoru working in tandem with Rinally to get the spider-like Heartless flipped over onto its back, leaving its belly vulnerable to the Keyblades.

Nightmare Raid and Cascade made their lives easier, but both Kaoru and Kai didn't want to waste too much of their energy by using their most powerful attacks constantly. They still hadn't found any sign of inhabitance in the mansion, and they still had to go back down through the floors they'd already searched to search the floors below the front hall. Thankfully, the attacks by the Heartless weren't frequent, but the downside was that they came in droves when they did attack. It drove Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally to their limits, and it made them more cautious when entering a new floor.

"I think," Rinally whispered, "that someone knows we're here. The Heartless are far too organized, don't you think?"

"They're trying to wear us down." Kai said, about as much an agreement as Rin would ever get. "Trying to tire us out, to make us less a threat to whatever might be waiting for us."

Kaoru found the next set of stairs and leaned against the wall, taking the time to rest before they continued on. "Someone's controlling them."

Both Rinally and Kai looked at him sharply. Rin, of course, hadn't forgotten their earlier bouts with controlled Heartless, and she clutched tighter to her witch's staff. "You think it's the Creepy Coats?" she asked.

Kaoru shrugged. "I haven't seen any black rods in the Heartless we've faced so far, but the Heartless we've faced so far don't make sense to me. You have small Shadows attacking at the same time the Spider-Legs do, but they don't get in the Spider-Legs' way. There are Search Ghosts attacking with Pumpkin-Heads and Minute-Bombs, but they don't get in each other's way either."

Kai folded his arms across his chest. "So they're puppets, with their strings being pulled by some unseen puppet-master. Which means there's someone here, because if the puppet-master wasn't close, the Heartless would be attacking whenever and however they felt like."

"Exactly." Kaoru said.

"But even though they're attacking in groups," Rin pointed out, "they're not attacking one after another. It's like they were placed on each floor to make sure anyone trying to come up had a hard time of it."

"Which means one of two things: either we're looking in the wrong direction, or we're close to what we're looking for, and they're trying to convince us we're wrong." Kai said.

"So do we keep going?" Kaoru asked. "Or do we turn around and head downstairs?"

Kai and Rinally remained silent for some time, thinking over their options. Finally, Kai shook his head. "We might as well keep going. If we're wrong, we're wrong. Otherwise, things might finally get interesting."

Rinally nodded. "We might as well, right? We can't have that much further to go, anyway."

Kaoru nodded and turned to head up the stairs, Guardian in hand. Four floors ago, he wouldn't have bothered to have the Keyblade out in such a cramped area, but after being attacked by Spider-Legs in the stairwell twice, he didn't want to forge ahead undefended.

As he stepped up the last stair into the attic room, he felt a rumbling start under his feet. For a moment, he couldn't understand what was happening, but then the floor surged beneath him, sending him stumbling forward where he crashed to his hands and knees. Then he felt a surge of darkness press against his mind, foul and malignant, and realized it was coming from the house itself. It was being pushed by a presence Kaoru could barely sense. He struggled to his feet, fighting with the swaying of the mansion to try and reach the stairwell.

"Kai!" Kaoru yelled. "Rin! It's a trap! Get back!"

If they responded, he didn't hear it. He was violently thrown backwards away from the stairs by a sudden lurch of the mansion and crashed to the floor. He gasped, feeling a sudden pain in his right upper arm and shoulder, but then his senses were assaulted by that malignant darkness and it battered at him, beating him from all directions until all he could do was grasp Guardian and fight to get a Holy Shield around himself to stave off the darkness. He had barely formed the shield when that presence behind the darkness made its move. That presence hit so hard and so fast that Kaoru had no time to dodge or defend himself. His Holy Shield shattered, and Kaoru was slammed into the floor again. Guardian winked out of existence in a flash of bright light.

As he lay there, stunned and wounded, he saw someone walking toward him but he couldn't make out who it was. He whispered, "Tae?"

Then he knew no more.


	37. Chapter 37

Thirty-Six - Halloween Town

"Where is he?" Rinally asked Kai, her voice barely a whisper. In it, Kai could hear her worry and fear for Kaoru. He worried for the small blonde as well, but he was better at hiding it.

He had been right behind Kaoru on the stairs when everything started going wrong. He'd leaped backwards, off the stairs, just in time to keep Rinally from getting on them, but by the time he'd turned around to yell for Kaoru, the opening in the wall to the stairwell was gone. Then the whole mansion began to shake violently, and Kai felt a surge of darkness so powerful, but so twisted and foul, rush toward them. He had shielded himself with his own darkness, and had shielded Rinally as well, but the malignant darkness wasn't looking for them. In fact, it passed over them as if they weren't even there, though they had been noticed. They'd simply been ignored. Kai had realized the darkness had come from the mansion itself, a lifetime or more of coalesced hate and fear that gave the place its own sort of sentience. By itself, it was harmless even if it did rail against the light, and would only give someone a feeling of unwelcome. However, someone had been directing it. He had felt that, in the moment the darkness had washed over them. They hadn't been what the puppet-master had been looking for.

He realized, after it was all over, that the puppet-master had been waiting for such an opportunity. He had been waiting for them to separate, even by a small distance such as a flight of stairs. He'd been after Kaoru the whole time. Which meant he'd either been watching the three of them and biding his time, or he was as sensitive to Kaoru as Kai was, and could locate such a powerful light with just a flick of thought. Kai had a gut feeling it was the latter. _But no one should be as sensitive to Kaoru as I am. He's_ my _light. Unless..._

"Kai?" Rinally questioned, bringing him back to reality.

"I think we have a problem." Kai said, his deep voice rolling through the room.

"You can't find Kaoru?"

He shook his head. "I can find him. He's still in the mansion."

"Oh. Good. So where is he?"

"He's with the puppet-master."

Rin's eyes grew wide. "That _is_ a problem."

Kai grunted. "Yeah, but it's not the problem I'm talking about."

Rinally gave him a curious look, questioning him without actually putting the words to voice. After a moment, Kai continued, "I should be the only one sensitive to Kaoru. He's my light, right?"

"Right. I guess." Rinally said.

He ignored her tone of voice that elicited from him the desire to punch her and said, "But there's someone else who would be sensitive to Kaoru too. His Princess of Heart."

"That doesn't make any sense. That darkness we felt, she wouldn't use that to hurt Kaoru or take him away from us."

Kai shrugged. He didn't know this Tae as well as Kaoru did. From how Kaoru had described her, she didn't seem the type to hurt a fly let alone hurt one of her dearest friends. The light he'd felt from her necklace had been so pure and bright that he couldn't imagine that she would allow herself to become so defiled. "If not her, then the other option is this Hiromu kid. Kaoru's other friend."

Rinally frowned. He watched her eyes as she thought, watched her connect the dots between pieces of information and her own inferences. She tapped her fingers against her chin in a thoughtful way. "Kaoru didn't think Hiromu would be the kind of person to hurt others, or to use darkness."

"Maybe Hiromu isn't the same person now that he was before." Kai said. "Believe me, tragic loss changes people. Look at it from Hiromu's perspective for a minute. Say he's survived the destruction of his world and the only person he's with is Tae. Wherever he ended up, I'm sure he looked for Kaoru. When he couldn't find him, he had to either decide Kaoru was safe somewhere else, which would be the likely explanation since Kaoru has Guardian, or Kaoru was dead."

"But, being his friend, I'd believe the former and do whatever I could to try and find him." Rinally said. "But I have no power of my own, so I have to rely on Tae."

"If she isn't injured because of her world's destruction. If she is, I have to protect her. Without a Keyblade or magic or anything, I'm just as vulnerable as she is, maybe more so."

"But she wasn't hurt. Kaoru saw that image of her in Twilight Town and to him, she seemed just fine."

"Either way, I want power. I need it, to protect myself and Tae, to find Kaoru. So someone comes along and offers me that power."

"And I take it, because maybe I'm just a little bit jealous of Kaoru." Rinally said.

Kai raised a brow at that. "How so?"

"Because Hiromu ripped Tae's necklace off. Kaoru gave it to her. That tells me he's jealous of Kaoru. At first it was just because Kaoru was a rival for Tae's attention, but Kaoru's denser than a brick when it comes to that sort of thing, so now the jealousy stems from the fact Kaoru has a Keyblade."

Kai pressed his lips together and said nothing. If he judged the expression on Rinally's face correctly, she already knew about him and Kaoru, and he didn't want to give her any more ammunition with which to fuel her sick fantasies. Especially when, in her sick fantasies, he was getting more action than he was in real life. "So I take this power. Now I have the ability to find my lost friend. And I do find him."

"But he's got two new companions and doesn't seem to be in a hurry to find me or Tae." Rinally scowled and folded her arms across her chest. "So... so why not reveal myself? Why not just join up with him?"

"If he really wanted to rejoin Kaoru in the first place."

She shook her pink head, not so much in denial but in favor of another reason. "Because the people who gave me the power to protect Tae got to me before I could reach out to Kaoru, or tell Tae that I'd found him. They know I'm jealous. So they tell me if I join up with Kaoru and his new pals, I'm going to lose Tae. She'll never look at me like she does Kaoru, who's saved worlds."

Kai scowled. "So I accept their help in order to win Tae." He cursed. "And when Sora and the others showed up in Twilight Town, he panicked. He thought maybe, we were with them. _That's_ why Hiromu ripped the necklace off. He thought Kaoru had met up with Sora and Sora was helping him look for Tae."

"You were on point about Tae's necklace being like a tracking device. Only it wasn't Kaoru who tracked it, but you."

"He doesn't know that."

Rinally's lips thinned into a line. "Kaoru's in danger."

Kai felt the darkness inside him surge with the intensity of his spiking anger. He forced it down, knowing that if he gave in he would never be able to find Kaoru. He raised his hand to stop Rinally from speaking and closed his eyes. He had to fight through layers of malignant darkness before he found the slightest glimmer of light deep within it. He recognized it immediately. He opened his eyes, seeing the world through the monochromatic tint rather than color. Even though his eyes had been their black and gold since arriving in Halloween Town, it wasn't until now that he'd started looking through the light-seeking filter. That alone told him how pissed off he was.

He saw Rinally tense as he looked at her. The bright pulse that was her heart began to flash faster, revealing to him her nervousness. He summoned Sanctuary and pinpointed the location of the light again.

"Come on." he said. "We're going hunting."

"You found him?"

"Let's get our Light back."

oooo

Kaoru opened his eyes and for a moment, thought he had gone blind. There was nothing but solid black around him in all directions, so deep that he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. He remembered being in the attic room, then the attack that had come so fast and so abruptly. _He was waiting for me._ Kaoru realized. _He was waiting for me to get away from Kai and Rinally. Why?_ He remembered, just before he'd passed out, that he'd seen someone coming toward him. He thought it had been Tae, but now that he was coherent again, he couldn't begin to imagine why she would have suddenly turned to darkness, nor why she would have attacked him so violently. He was certain it had to be someone else.

He was also certain he was laying on his back. His fingers explored the floor beneath him and found it solid enough. He pushed himself upright and cried out as he put pressure on his right arm and shoulder. Pain radiated throughout the entire limb, almost excruciating, and he reached to clutch at his shoulder. His fingers encountered a deep slice, one that bled fiercely. It had been bleeding for some time, if he could judge the soaked quality of his clothes right. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but he didn't feel light headed or weak. He didn't remember being wounded like this, but he did remember a sudden pain when he'd landed on the floor during the first attack in the attic.

He wished Rin was here. Her magic would have taken care of this wound quickly. But he knew he was alone. Wherever he was, he couldn't even sense Kai.

With his left hand, Kaoru reached forward, focusing his will. Guardian appeared in his hand, a bright beacon in the pitch blackness. It pushed back the darkness in about a six foot circle around him, allowing him to see his own blood smearing the floor where he'd lain, as well as allowing him to see that he was in a cage.

"You shouldn't have come here, Kaoru."

The voice echoed all around him, coming in from every direction. Even still, he was able to identify the voice immediately. "Hiromu?"

Bright lights exploded into existence, blinding Kaoru. He threw up his left arm and Guardian to shield his eyes, and on reflex, a Holy Shield materialized around him. As soon as the light dimmed, Kaoru opened his eyes. They adjusted rather quickly, proving to him that he was indeed in a cage, suspended in the center of a circular room. He couldn't see what was directly below him, but he could see what was around him. There was a conveyor belt encircling the far wall, but it looked old and rusted, clearly out of use. There was only one door set high in the wall above the conveyor belt, and from it branched a walkway that only spanned that single wall. The room itself had a terrible atmosphere to it. Though there was nothing visibly malignant about the room, Kaoru could sense a deep hatred ingrained into the materials that made the room up. He saw flickers of darkness in the deep shadows. Butter yellow eyes peered out of those shadows, hundreds of them blinking slowly as the Heartless awoke from their slumber.

As Kaoru pivoted, he froze as he saw a girl standing on the broken conveyor belt. Half of her was in shadow, but he recognized her from her outfit and her sandals. "Tae." he whispered.

The darkness beside Tae shivered and out of it materialized Hiromu. He looked much the same as Kaoru remembered, though his outfit had changed. Rather than wearing the clothes he'd had been in Paradise City, he wore deep black cargo pants, thick-soled boots, and a long-sleeved shirt beneath a long black coat that Kaoru recognized immediately. Hiromu had one hand curled around Tae's bicep, as if he were simply holding her upright rather than holding her in place.

"Tae!" Kaoru yelled, moving to the bars of his cage. She didn't respond.

"She can't hear you, Kaoru." Hiromu said. He pulled Tae forward gently, and the shadows slid off her face to reveal it. Her eyes were utterly blank, soulless, staring at nothing even though she was looking right at him. Even her face was blank, caught somewhere between emotionless and simply apathetic.

Kaoru slammed Guardian against the bars of his cage. "What did you do to her, Hiromu?!"

Hiromu laughed, a cold and chilling noise. "Me? What did _I_ do to her? It's more like what did _you_ do to her. After Paradise City was wiped out of existence, Tae and I found ourselves wandering through darkness. She always seemed to know where you were, but each time we found where you had been, you had already moved on. I told her why, of course. Your new friend's quite a hottie."

"Don't call Rinally a hottie." Kaoru growled.

"Rinally's her name, huh? I didn't think you'd move on quite so quickly. I guess that Keyblade of yours makes you quite popular."

"What the hell are you talking about? I didn't 'move on'. She's been helping me try to find you!"

Hiromu continued as if Kaoru hadn't even spoken. "See, after we reached this jungle-like world, Tae and I got some help. The Brotherhood took us in and sheltered us. When they asked us how we'd ended up on such an unfamiliar world, Tae told them how Paradise City had been destroyed by the Heartless. That's when we learned what Tae was. A real Princess of Heart, can you believe that? But you knew that, didn't you?"

"Hiromu," Kaoru said, "what are you talking about?" A feeling of dread filled his chest. _The Brotherhood? Is he talking about the Creepy Coats? Is that why he's wearing their coat?_

Hiromu smiled. "They told us they could help us find you. All we had to do was help them out. Tae refused; she wouldn't tell me why. But I knew that, on our own, we were basically walking meals for the Heartless. So I agreed to help the Brotherhood, if and only if they could keep Tae safe."

"Look at her! How is she safe? She's a doll!"

"Because of you!" Hiromu roared. "Because of you, Kaoru!"

Kaoru shivered. "You're lying."

"Am I? When the Brotherhood sent us to Twilight Town to retrieve something for them, Tae felt you. I don't know how she did, but she felt you. We'd made it to that secret room in the basement, the one with the egg chambers, and she tried to leave me. I stopped her. When she told me you had come, that we had to go meet you, I knew then what I had to do. See, the Brotherhood needs a Princess of Heart, and they need a Keyblade wielder, to help with their experiments. They've already figured out how to control darkness. It's the Light they need to figure out how to control."

 _It wasn't me. We arrived later, after they had already left. It had to have been Sora Tae sensed. But why would she say it was me? Unless all Tae felt was Light and assumed it was me. She's never met Sora, so she could have confused us._ "I won't let them use Tae, and I won't let them use me!"

"You? _You!?_ Don't make me laugh, Kaoru. They already _have_ a Keyblade wielder." Hiromu extended his left hand and splayed his fingers. Shadows coalesced and swirled around his hand, elongating and solidifying until Hiromu held tight to a blood red hilt. The guard flowed out around his hand like a flame frozen in time, and a long tail that looked strangely like a phoenix feather dangled from the end, mimicking a keychain. The blade portion was about an arm's length long, and colored a rusted gold. It closely resembled a pipe shape, much like Kaoru's Guardian, but the end flattened out into a spade shape and thick barbs protruded from the inner edge of the spade. "You're not the only one who has a Keyblade now."

Kaoru stared, feeling the dread that had been growing in his chest suddenly expand tenfold. He leaned against Guardian and his cage, staring at Hiromu's Keyblade. "You used it on Tae, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. I couldn't have her go running to you. So I sealed her heart. It was easy. Of course, since she's sealed away, she's useless to the Brotherhood, but it's fine. I don't want them using her anyway."

"And you tore off the necklace I gave her."

"I couldn't have you finding us. I was certain that was how you found us in the first place. I see you have it."

Kaoru glanced at his headphones, where he'd tied Tae's necklace. The silver charm gleamed in Guardian's radiant light. He looked back at Hiromu. "If you're a Keyblade wielder, then you have to know the Brotherhood aren't the good guys. They don't want to help you, Hiromu. They want to use you! They're controlling the Heartless, seeking to destroy worlds! They're seeking to ruin everything Sora and Riku have tried to protect!"

"They're seeking to protect everything Sora and Riku are trying to destroy!" Hiromu retorted. "You don't get it, do you, Kaoru? There's a war coming. A war between Light and Darkness. Only one side is going to survive it. You think you're all high and mighty because your Keyblade is a manifestation of the light inside your heart, but in reality you're terrified that I just might be more powerful than you. _I_ have Tae. _I_ have the Princess of Heart. She chose you, but _I'm_ the one who ended up with her."

Kaoru slammed Guardian against the bars of his cage. "What are you talking about, Hiromu? Haven't you seen what the Brotherhood has done to the worlds they've been to? The chaos and destruction they've caused? I've fought to stop that! My friends and I have fought to stop them from destroying good people! Why would you help them? This isn't you!"

"Your friends? You mean Rinally and that redhead who's so steeped in darkness he might as well be a Heartless himself?" Hiromu laughed. "They're your friends now? Did you even think about me, Kaoru? Did you even think about Tae? Or did you just start worrying about us when you found Tae's necklace?"

"I've looked everywhere for you! On every world I've been to, I've looked!"

"The Brotherhood was right about you. The great vaunted hero of Light, with one of the rarest Keyblades to ever exist, easily forgets the reason _why_ he got a Keyblade in the first place. It was us, Kaoru. It was me and Tae who let you summon Guardian the first time. Because you wanted to protect us, remember? But now look at you. You replaced us."

"I didn't replace you!"

"You replaced us in your heart with your new 'friends'. You gave up on us, just like they said you had."

"I haven't given up on you!"

"Not that it matters," Hiromu continued, as if he wasn't even listening. He pulled Tae close to him, wrapping his free arm around her waist. "I'm the one who's going to protect Tae. I'm the one who's going to help the Brotherhood win the war. Sora won't stand a chance against me. You won't either."

"Darkness can't exist without Light! Destroying one means destroying the other! The Brotherhood can't win this war! Even the Keyblade wielders can't win this war!"

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying!" Kaoru cried desperately. "It's true! Darkness and Light are the same thing! One exists because the other does. They exist _for_ each other! Hiromu, don't let them convince you otherwise. Free Tae! Let her heart go!"

Kaoru realized too late that his last words were the wrong thing to say. As soon as he said them, Hiromu's expression changed. It went from gloating and pleased to deadly serious and cautious. "He told me you'd say that. I wasn't supposed to underestimate you, if I chose to face you. Your voice can still reach her, if you cried loud enough, is what he said."

Kaoru stepped back from the bars of his cage, suddenly wanting to put distance between him and Hiromu. His knuckles hurt from gripping Guardian so tightly, and he raised the Keyblade, as if the weapon was the only thing that could protect him now.

Hiromu scowled. "I might have sealed her heart away to protect her from the Brotherhood, but you... It's always you, isn't it, Kaoru? The one who got to meet Sora. The one who was chosen to wield a Keyblade. The one who was chosen to be the champion of Light. The one who survived and had the luck of the devil himself. I should've killed you then, while you were lying on the floor."

"You... you're the one who attacked me?" Kaoru said, his voice filled with disbelief. His shoulder twinged in sympathy.

Hiromu shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "I missed. I guess a part of me really didn't want to hurt you. It would make Tae sad, after all, if you died. But... screw it. I don't care anymore. If your voice can reach her, then you're only a danger to her."

Tears stung Kaoru's eyes. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, especially from his friend. If he were facing an enemy, some stranger that he hadn't known for years, maybe the words wouldn't hurt, but he wasn't. Guardian shimmered in his hand, then exploded out of existence in a shower of sparks. His legs couldn't hold his weight anymore and he slid to the floor of his cage. "Hiromu, what... Do you even hear yourself? We've known each other since we were little. How could you say that?"

"What? That I'm going to kill you? Easy. I'm. Going. To. Kill. You." Hiromu pushed Tae behind him and leveled his Keyblade at Kaoru's cage. Tae went passively, swaying only a little bit. She stood there and watched with that blank expression as Hiromu's Keyblade began to glow with a sickly light.

A pale beam shot from the end of the weapon to the cage's door, and Kaoru heard a snap as the lock popped open. He knew he should try to run, but he couldn't make his legs obey him. He wanted to blame the wound in his shoulder, the fact he'd lost so much blood, but he would only be lying to himself. He was locked in place because of Hiromu, because of what Hiromu had said. The knowledge that his friend had been taken in by the Creepy Coats, the Brotherhood, and had been twisted and manipulated so much so that he would use his Keyblade to hurt someone he loved rooted Kaoru in place. The knowledge that it was partially his fault for not trying harder to find Hiromu and Tae, the knowledge that he hadn't fought harder for them, and the knowledge that there was nothing he could do or say to convince Hiromu otherwise, kept Kaoru from even trying to rise. Guardian wouldn't come to his hand.

Hiromu stepped into the cage. His Keyblade had a bloodthirsty gleam to it as he shifted it to a readier grip. "You don't have to make this easy for me, Kaoru." Hiromu said. "Put up a fight. Show me how you've grown. Ennio told me how you destroyed the monster Gaston had become, and how you killed John Smith. Where's Guardian, huh? Not so much a guardian anymore, are you?"

"I didn't kill them." Kaoru whispered.

"You destroyed the darkness inside them. That's about as close to killing them as you can get without actually taking their lives."

"I didn't destroy anyone!"

"You set Ennio back by months because you interfered. But the data he gathered was pretty decent. With what I've gathered here, the army the Brotherhood will create will be unbeatable. Sora won't stand a chance."

Kaoru watched, feeling stunned and hurt and helpless, as that tarnished gold Keyblade rose above him. It cast its shadow over Kaoru's face, looking more threatening than it should have, had Kaoru felt capable of summoning Guardian to defend himself. But with guilt from Hiromu's words hammering at him, he couldn't even make himself move. Hiromu grinned, a terrible, monstrous, mad thing. Then his arm blurred.

The wall opposite them exploded outward, showering them with debris and darkness.


	38. Chapter 38

Thirty-Seven - Halloween Town

"Kai." Kaoru breathed.

The redhead seemed to materialize out of the darkness, standing in front of him with his back to Kaoru. His armor encased his left shoulder and chest, his left arm all the way down to his wrist, and over his hand which held Sanctuary's hilt. The Keyblade itself glowed with violet light, brighter than Kaoru had ever seen it glow before. Kai had dropped into a stance that was both defensive and offensive, shielding Kaoru as much as it left him ready to respond to anything Hiromu might throw at him. Even Hiromu looked shocked to see Kai standing there, but he could've just been shocked to see Kai's eyes. Kaoru had no doubt that his friend was glaring at Hiromu with those black and yellow Heartless eyes.

"Get up, Kaoru." Kai growled.

"I-"

"If you don't stand right now, I will kick your ass."

"I'm wounded, you know." Kaoru responded, though it didn't have the humor he wished it did. He knew Kai heard it because those black-clad shoulders tightened. He didn't turn around to look, taking Kaoru's words at face value.

"Get up." Kai snarled. "Stay behind me."

As Kaoru did what he was told, he saw Hiromu gauge the distance between them and wonder if trying to kill him was worth tangling with Kai. Then he suddenly tensed and whirled around. Kaoru followed his gaze and found Rinally almost within touching distance of Tae. Hiromu let out a bellow of pure rage and launched himself at Rinally, his Keyblade leading. She saw him coming, let out a squeak of surprise, and flung herself away from Tae. She hit the ground and rolled, a barrier appearing between her and Hiromu just in time to stop the Keyblade he wielded from ripping at her back. She retaliated with a Thundara, which hit him square in the chest and flung him backwards by a good ten feet.

Using the spare seconds bought for them by that move, Kai turned toward Kaoru and scooped him up into his arms. Kaoru cried out as his wound was agitated, for which Kai apologized, but it didn't stop him from roughly manhandling Kaoru. He leaped from the cage with his burden, landed on the floor in a crouch, then set Kaoru down. Rinally quickly clambered down to join them, immediately falling to her knees beside Kaoru. Her hands glowed with the green healing magic of Curaga, and Kaoru winced as he felt his wound begin to close.

"If I ever find you in that state again," Kai snarled, "I'll kill you myself, got me?"

Kaoru stared up at the redhead in shock and disbelief. "But... but he's... he's my friend!"

"He was going to kill you! That's no friend!"

"But it's my fault, Kai! It's my fault he's like this! If I hadn't wasted so much time, if I had fought harder to find them, he wouldn't have turned like this!"

"You don't know that!" Kai reached down and snagged Kaoru's jacket, bunching the cloth in his hand as he pulled Kaoru upright, their noses almost touching. "You don't know that at all! But you know what I know? I know that if you hadn't fought so hard for me, I would be dead or worse! I know that if you hadn't put yourself in my path, I wouldn't be here right now! Neither would Rinally. Don't look at what you didn't do, Kaoru! Look at what you _did_ do! Or are we so insignificant now?"

Kaoru's eyes watered. Kai hated seeing him cry. He hated seeing Kaoru so broken. But he knew he had to say the words, because if he didn't, he would lose Kaoru forever. They all would. His Light was too important to be extinguished, and not just to Kai. Kaoru was important to Rin and to Tae. He was even important to Hiromu, even if the bastard had forgotten that piece of information. He gave Kaoru a slight shake. "Hiromu may be your friend, but you didn't _make_ him do anything. You didn't make him embrace what he has, you didn't make him choose. That's the whole thing about choice: the person gets to make it, not you. You can only give them the rope. It's up to them to swing or hang. Hiromu chose his path not because of anything you did or didn't do, but because of the information given to him. Him blaming you for his mistakes is only showing how much of a coward he is. If he can't see you for the friend you are to him, then he doesn't deserve you."

The tears in Kaoru's eyes began to fall. Kai released Kaoru's jacket and pulled him into a tight, almost breath-stealing hug. "You _saved_ me, Kaoru. You showed me the choices I had and what paths I would walk depending on what I picked. I picked you, Kaoru. You're _my_ Light, no one else's, and I'm going to protect you, no matter what or who I have to face."

Kaoru's arms came up around Kai's back and clung tightly to him. Kai looked up at Rinally, knowing she could hear Kaoru's muffled wailing. She looked like she might cry herself. Even Zero, who rested on Rinally's tophat, looked sad.

"Very touching, coming from someone who's practically a Heartless himself." Hiromu snarled. "Do you even believe what you're saying? _He's_ your _Light_? Are you kidding me?"

Kai went very still. He felt Kaoru tense in response to it. Even Rinally seemed to be holding her breath. Kai turned his gaze up to where Hiromu stood, the world slamming into its monochromatic shade as the darkness inside him began to boil with anger. He could see Hiromu's heart, a blob of sickly colored light steadily pulsing without fear. There was darkness swirling in that light, a myriad of dark colors that steadily warred with the light. Hiromu hadn't been taken fully yet by the darkness, Kai realized. Either he was fighting it, whether consciously or subconsciously, or Tae was protecting him, and Hiromu didn't even know it.

Hiromu continued his taunting. "No one can have both! You're either one or the other! You should know that better than anyone - what did he call you? - Kai? You're two steps away from becoming a full-on monster, yourself. Why not just give in? I'm sure the Brotherhood could find a use for a monster like you."

Kai bared his teeth. "If you spout crap like that, then you have really no idea what that weapon in your hand represents. You don't deserve it. And I might be two steps away from becoming a darkness-infested monster, but that doesn't mean I have to become one. And Kaoru _is_ my Light in the Darkness. He's an important Light that I refuse to allow to be extinguished."

"You talk like you've got a choice in all this."

"Everyone always has a choice."

Hiromu lifted his Keyblade and pointed it toward Kaoru, who was still sheltered in Kai's arms. "Choice? Bullshit! Do you think we had a choice in Paradise City being destroyed? Do you think we had a choice in being separated from Kaoru? Do you think we had a choice in where we ended up? Fate didn't give us a _choice_. Fate _decided_. And Fate decided I got the same powers as Kaoru. I've got a Keyblade, just like he does. Like you do."

"You made the choice to help the wrong team." Kai said, almost growling. "You made the choice to lock Tae's heart away, after she tried to get away from you. You made the choice to try to kill Kaoru. Who's the _real_ monster, huh, Hiromu?"

Kai saw Hiromu go very still and then an expression of pure rage and hate materialized onto his face. Hiromu's arm cocked back, and he saw the attack coming before Hiromu had even begun to commit to it. He shoved Kaoru away into Rinally, mostly to get them both out of harm's way, and then summoned Sanctuary. His Keyblade sparked against Hiromu's as the two weapons came together with a violent clamor. Kai let his knees buckle, using Hiromu's own weight to flip the other boy over his body as Kai went into a backbend slide to get away from his enemy.

Hiromu hit the ground and rolled to his feet, holding his Keyblade up and ready. He glanced toward Kaoru and Rinally, but Kai wasn't going to let him attack them. He launched himself forward, not yet tapping into his powers of Darkness to give him the heightened speed he enjoyed when he went into his Nightmare Raid attack. Even still, he was fast, and Hiromu was forced to retreat, defending himself from Kai's lightning-fast attacks. He was pushed further and further away from Kaoru and Rinally, and Kai wasn't about to let up in his furious tempo of blows. Hiromu had to give all of his attention to Kai, which had been Kai's intent.

Kaoru and Rinally seemed absolutely frozen as they watched Kai and Hiromu battle each other. Kaoru wanted to intervene, mostly because he didn't want Kai to kill Hiromu, and mostly because Hiromu was his friend, and he wouldn't last forever against Kai's strength and speed. But he didn't dare get between them, knowing Hiromu wouldn't hesitate to kill him, and Kai might not be able to stop in time to keep from hurting Kaoru himself. That, and Rinally had an iron grip around his wrist and was squeezing it tight.

Zero lifted himself off Rinally's tophat and flew in circles around them a few times before he froze, pointing with that red nose of his toward the platform Hiromu had abandoned. Kaoru realized immediately what the ghost dog was trying to tell him.

"Tae." Kaoru breathed.

"What?"

"Tae isn't guarded." Kaoru said, almost excitedly. He pulled Rinally with him as he sought a way to get back up to the upper platform. "If we can get to her, maybe I can unlock her heart. If we can get her back, Hiromu will have to stop fighting Kai. He would have to come with us."

Rinally followed behind him with a strange expression on her face. "Kaoru, do you realize how stupid you sound? Your friend just tried to kill you. He's working for the bad guys."

"I know." Kaoru paused on the ladder he found, one hand and one foot on a rung each. He turned to look back at Rinally. "I know that. But... but if I give up on him now, what kind of friend does that make me? It's like Kai said: it all comes down to choice. I know in my heart that I'll never be able to end Hiromu. I couldn't, even if I had him dead to rights. But I could give him the choice. If the Brotherhood has really gotten to him so badly that he's about to fall on the wrong side of Darkness, or even, the wrong side of Light, then maybe he can't be redeemed no matter what I do. But I can still try."

Rinally stared at him for a long moment, then looked over to where Kai and Hiromu were, their Keyblades flicking gold and violet in the air and sending sparks wide when the two weapons collided. Then she looked back at him. "You're banking on the fact he's doing all this to protect Tae, aren't you?"

"I'm pretty sure Hiromu's in love with Tae." Kaoru smiled. "You heard him. He sealed her heart away so I couldn't find her, but it also made her useless to the Brotherhood. I think he sealed her heart away on purpose, and not because of me."

Rinally thought about it for a minute. "I get it. Since you weren't around to take pressure off him, he did the only thing he could think of, and is justifying it with jealousy-fueled, misinformed, thought-processes."

Kaoru started climbing. "Exactly."

"There are easier ways of going around getting yourself a girlfriend." Rinally grumbled, climbing up after him.

They ignored the vicious barrage going on down below, slowly making their way over to Tae. Kaoru summoned Guardian; his arm and chest became encased in his opalescent armor, glowing brightly with Light. Kaoru picked up his pace, inching closer and closer to Tae, solely focused on his friend. He trusted Kai to keep Hiromu busy. _Just a little longer. Just a few feet more._

"KAORU!" Rinally screamed, her entire tone a fierce warning cloaked in pure, unadulterated fear.

Kaoru looked up, his arm outstretched toward Tae and just barely brushing her skin with his fingertips. Hiromu was suddenly in his face, so close that Kaoru could see the individual veins in Hiromu's eyes. He barely got Guardian between him and Hiromu's Keyblade, but the momentum of the golden Keyblade was so fast and the power behind it so great that Kaoru's own defense became his undoing. Guardian slammed back into his body with all the power and force of a freight train and Hiromu came with it, adding his weight to the blow. Kaoru's back hit the wall and then he and Hiromu exploded out of it, into the open air of the canyon that Oogie Boogie's mansion had been situated in. Kaoru felt weightless for all of a second and then he plummeted toward the ground more than a hundred feet below. Hiromu was above him, angling his body toward Kaoru with his Keyblade leading for a strike.

Kaoru somehow adjusted his body and gripped Guardian tightly. He didn't want to hurt Hiromu, but Kai was right. If he didn't fight back, if he didn't fight to survive, then who would save Tae? Who would save Hiromu? Who would keep Kai from succumbing to his Darkness? Who would help Rinally find her family?

He owed it to Hiromu to fight.

Guardian hit the golden Keyblade in Hiromu's hands with enough force to spin Hiromu halfway around. A look of pure shock crossed Hiromu's features, and then the shock quickly faded into fury. They were still falling at a high rate of speed, and Kaoru didn't have a way of stopping his descent. Neither, it seemed, did Hiromu. Yet Hiromu didn't seem to care. He launched into a series of attacks that forced Kaoru to ply Guardian in a defensive manner. That golden Keyblade flashed like lightning, slamming against Guardian with enough force to produce multicolored sparks. Kaoru couldn't even think of going on the offensive, as his opponent's blows were coming so quickly and so hard that if he tried, he would certainly die.

He was going to die anyway, even if he managed to get a Holy Shield around himself, as the ground was rushing up to meet him with a terrible sense of finality.

Hiromu seemed to sense their predicament and took his eyes off Kaoru for a second. Kaoru took the chance and launched into an attack of his own, putting all the power he could muster behind his swings. Guardian began to glow brightly, a prismatic streamer left in the air each time Kaoru swung his weapon, connecting with Hiromu's Keyblade again and again. Hiromu seemed to flinch each time the two weapons impacted each other, his eyes growing wide and his expression becoming more and more desperate. They exchanged blow after terrible blow, unable to get the upper hand against one another. They were unable to get past each other's defenses. The ground was still a very real threat. Then Kaoru slapped Hiromu's Keyblade wide...

And hesitated.

Hiromu didn't. That golden Keyblade came howling in, hit Guardian with titanic force and sent it to the left, across Kaoru's body. Then Hiromu spun his body, swung his Keyblade and connected with Guardian again, this time sending it out wide to the right. Kaoru felt the beginnings of his Holy Shield even as he tried to recover from the damaging blow. Hiromu's golden Keyblade glimmered with a tarnished tone as he drew his arm back.

"I'll tell Tae you died doing the right thing!" Hiromu shouted. "I'll make sure to take _real_ good care of Rinally and Kai! And I'll make sure that Kai remembers exactly how his Light was extinguished!"

"Don't!" Kaoru cried.

Hiromu leered, and swung his Keyblade down. It met resistance in the form of Kaoru's Holy Shield, and started bowing the shield of light inward, toward Kaoru. The golden Keyblade pierced the barrier only by a few inches, but the breach was enough to make the shield shatter the very second Kaoru hit the ground. His body dropped the last few feet unprotected, the shield dissipating in a shower of bright motes. He lost his grip on Guardian. The breath was driven out of his lungs. His body was one giant source of pain.

Then Hiromu's Keyblade struck the plate armor on Kaoru's chest, above his heart, and Hiromu's body landed nearly on top of Kaoru. The weight of him, combined with the speed of the fall, applied itself to his Keyblade and cracked the top layer of the armor covering Kaoru's chest. Kaoru screamed in pain.

A black bullet, nearly invisible at the high rate of speed it was traveling, hit Hiromu so hard that the boy was flung twenty feet across the canyon. Hiromu hit the ground on his side and tumbled and rolled uncontrollably before coming to a halt now thirty feet away from Kaoru. He spat out blood and raised his head to stare at the creature that could have possibly hurt him so. Kaoru saw Hiromu's face become bloodless and his eyes become full of fear. He slammed his Keyblade into the ground and used it as a crutch to stand, looking ready to bolt but afraid to, as if the movement would provoke the monster that was between him and Kaoru.

It was painful for Kaoru to turn his head enough to look at his savior. His entire body seemed like it was on fire, and not just because of the impact it had taken when landing from such a high fall. He felt like he couldn't breathe, even though he was taking small, harsh gasps of air to try and fill his lungs. Tears filled his eyes from the pain. He briefly wondered where Rinally and Kai were. Then he realized that Kai was already there.

Kai's armor had changed. It no longer just covered his left arm, left shoulder, and chest. Now it encased his entire body. The plate armor looked form-fitting and light for all of its protective appearance. Hard plates of pure darkness encrusted his chest, stomach, and thighs. Glimmers of radiant, violet light could be seen each time Kai moved. His legs and arms were encased in scale-like armor, these greaves and bracers seeming more like shadows had coalesced around his limbs rather than pure darkness. Even his feet, up to the ankles, were covered in armored boots. He bore no helmet, but his fiery red hair was bound up in a tail by tendrils of darkness. A diadem of black wound around his forehead. Wisps of shadow followed him around like a torn and tattered cloak, concealing and revealing him as they saw fit. Even Sanctuary looked more threatening, held in Kai's usual reverse grip.

Kaoru was sure Kai's eyes were burning in their Heartless black and gold colors.

Hiromu smirked. "I told you. I told you that you were two steps away from becoming a monster!"

Kai turned his head and looked at Kaoru with cold, Heartless eyes. "Stay right there, Kaoru. Rin's coming. I'll be back soon."

 _Don't kill him. Please._ So Kaoru wanted to say. Instead, his voice came out more like a croak, pathetic and helpless.

"Don't worry." Kai said, turning his attention back to Hiromu. "I won't."

Then he simply vanished.

Hiromu's only warning was the black feather that drifted down from above him. Kaoru turned his eyes up in time to see Kai, suspended in the air by great, shadowy-feathered wings - the wisps of shadow that had seemed like a cloak, Kaoru realized -, bring Sanctuary to bear and dive toward Hiromu. Hiromu barely escaped the attack, jumping out of the way with the barest of inches between him and Kai. Scarlet still sprayed into the air, and a bright line of red appeared on Hiromu's cheek.

Kai reappeared behind Hiromu and planted his foot into the other boy's back, sending him flying forward. Hiromu hit the ground on his hands and knees, then shoved himself to the left to avoid being skewered by Sanctuary. Kaoru could see real fear on Hiromu's face now. He didn't know how the battle could have turned so quickly. He didn't know how he could have ended up on the losing end when his victory had all but been assured. He didn't know what Kai had become.

"Black Knight." Rinally said. Kaoru tried to turn his head to look at her. He hadn't even heard her approach. She hovered her hand over the rent in his armor, her palm glowing with the green light of healing magic. The pain began to recede quickly. "It just... when he saw you get blasted out the window, I thought he lost it. His armor suddenly went pitch black and this darkness wrapped itself around him. He came out of it like that and dove after you."

Kaoru turned his head back to watch Kai and Hiromu battle. It was clear who would be the victor here. Kai had the speed, agility, and power to put Hiromu on his back over and over again. He was aided by the darkness that was his armor, every bit of it enhancing what he already possessed. Hiromu was bleeding and bruised. He was trying to retreat, but Kai wasn't letting him. He couldn't hear what Kai was saying to Hiromu anymore, but each word or sentence seemed to be punctuated with an attack of some kind. He kept beating Hiromu down, much like how Hiromu had beat Kaoru down, only with physical attacks rather than words. Hiromu tried to fight back, or at least deflect the attacks as much as he could, but they all knew that Hiromu wouldn't be winning this fight.

Kai flicked his wrist. Sanctuary snapped across the open space between Kai and Hiromu and slashed Hiromu's Keyblade from his hand. Hiromu stumbled backwards and landed on his rear, clutching his wrist. Kai lifted Sanctuary. Kaoru could only assume what Kai was saying, but he was pretty sure it was along the lines of "I'm not killing you only because Kaoru asked me not to." Then Sanctuary started to fall toward Hiromu's face.

It never reached him.

Tae was suddenly there, between Hiromu and Kai. Her arms were spread wide, as if to shield Hiromu from Sanctuary. Her face was still the blank, unemotional mask it had been up in the room in the mansion, but there was some kind of awareness about her that betrayed Hiromu's story about her locked heart. Kai froze, staring at the Princess of Heart with wide, Heartless eyes. Sanctuary froze inches from Tae's neck. Hiromu didn't waste any time. He surged to his feet, grabbed Tae around the waist and slashed his hand at the air behind them. Then he thrust his hand toward his Keyblade, which burst into rust-colored motes before reappearing in his hand. Hiromu turned fearful eyes upon Kai, then hauled Tae back into the portal he had created. Their shadowed forms were quickly swallowed up as the portal collapsed in on itself, leaving behind tiny motes of darkness that dissipated quickly.

Kai slowly lowered Sanctuary, then allowed it to fade. His armor went with it, leaving him clad once more in his Halloween Town costume. Then he turned and quickly ran back to Kaoru.

Rinally was just helping Kaoru sit up when Kai slid to his knees beside them. Kaoru looked up at Kai and offered him a small smile. Kai didn't return it, and whatever expression he was wearing on his face made Kaoru's smile falter. Rinally frowned a little and drew Kaoru closer to her, which made Kai twitch. He at last reached out and pulled Kaoru tight against him, pressing his cheek to Kaoru's soft blonde hair. The embrace that Kaoru gave him in return made something inside Kai relax, and he let out the breath he'd been holding. Then Kai released Kaoru and looked at the smaller boy's armor. Fine cracks ran through it now rather than the huge fissures it had before, proving the armor was healing itself, but it wasn't healing as fast as Kai had thought it would.

"I'm okay, really." Kaoru said softly.

"If it weren't for me, you'd still have trouble breathing." Rinally said, an edge to her voice. "You hesitated."

Kaoru flinched. "I..."

"You couldn't help it, I know. Despite everything, Hiromu's still your friend. But you aren't going to hesitate next time, are you?"

Kaoru didn't answer.

Kai cupped Kaoru's chin and forced the smaller boy to look into his eyes. "Are you?"

Small shoulders lifted and fell. "I don't know." Kaoru answered, helplessly and honestly. "I don't know. He's... he's my friend. I don't think... I don't think I could hurt him any more than I could hurt you or Rin."

Kai lifted his gaze and met Rinally's eyes. Her expression was a serious one, and it contained a hidden message, one she didn't want Kaoru seeing or interpreting. Kai gave her a slight nod. Hiromu was going to be Kaoru's weakness in battle. If the two were pitted against one another again, there was a good chance that Kaoru wouldn't come out of the next fight whole or alive. To that end, it was up to Kai and Rinally to protect Kaoru, to keep him from even engaging Hiromu again. Neither of them had the emotional attachment to the other boy like Kaoru did, and though they wouldn't outright try to kill Hiromu - well, maybe Kai would, but that was only because he didn't like Hiromu - they would ensure that he was at least hurt enough that he couldn't come at their backs or Kaoru's when they weren't looking.

Rinally reached out to squeeze Kaoru's shoulder. "We don't want to lose you, Kaoru. You're important to us, you know? I know it's hard, but sometimes, you just have to choose."

Kaoru's blue eyes focused on Kai's face. He shivered, looked away, and nodded. "I just... I didn't think this is what I would deal with when we started this journey..."

"Neither did I." Rin said, smiling sadly. "But nothing ever works out the way we want it to. But we know a few things now that we didn't know then." When both Kai and Kaoru looked at her questioningly, her smile became a little brighter. "We know that the Creepy Coats call themselves the Brotherhood. We know that they're trying to figure out how to control both Light and Darkness for some purpose that we all know isn't good. We know that they needed a Keyblade and got one with Hiromu, and they needed a Princess, which is Tae, except she's useless to them now because Hiromu sealed her heart away."

"And we know a name. Ennio." Kaoru said. "That guy we saw on Belle's world? The one that turned Gaston into a monster? Hiromu said his name was Ennio. He also said that Ennio told him that I killed both Gaston and John when I stopped the darkness inside them. He said destroying the darkness amounted to the same thing as a real death."

"But that's silly." Rinally protested. "You can't destroy the darkness inside someone. You can only put it into a sort of balance."

"If you want to use someone, you don't tell them the truth. You spin a believable, but false, tale and if they take it, hook, line, and sinker, then you can point them in any direction and let them go to town." Kai pointed out. "I think Hiromu believes bits and pieces of the story he was told. He protected Tae in his own way, right? But he tried to kill you, Kaoru. There has to be a piece of the story we're missing."

"Hiromu said I have one of the rarest Keyblades." Kaoru said softly. He lifted his hand, and with a slight effort of will, summoned Guardian to his hand. The Keyblade glowed with gentle light, and the ache in Kaoru's chest began to ease. "And each time he attacked me, he went for my heart. He has to know something about my Keyblade that even I don't. I didn't think Keyblades _could_ be sorted into types and one type be considered rare."

"Well, the ability to _use_ a Keyblade is rare," Rinally pointed out, "but yeah, I didn't think there were types of Keyblades either."

Kaoru let Guardian disappear along with his armor. Then he allowed Kai to help him get to his feet. Rin rose as well, casting one last healing spell upon Kaoru for good measure. Kaoru shivered at the feel of the spell on his skin, mending the last of his bruises. "I don't think there's anything more we can do here." Kaoru said. "Hiromu's gone, and Tae with him. I don't sense anything else."

Kai agreed. "There's only normal darkness here. Little Shadows, nothing that the people of Halloween Town can't handle. Whatever was here, Hiromu must have taken it with him when he ran."

"So what do we do?" Rinally asked.

Kaoru sighed softly. "We keep looking for Sora. We keep trying to reach Radiant Garden. Once we do, I'm sure we can find the answers we're looking for."

Kai took Kaoru's hand in his own and squeezed tight. Rinally did the same with Kaoru's other hand. Then Kai took a step forward and raised his hand, his Black Knight armor encasing his body once more. With a sharp movement, he ripped a hole in the fabric of reality before them, and then led them into the World Between Worlds.


	39. Chapter 39

Thirty-Eight - Edge

The portal spat the three of them out onto a wide, dry plain. There was nothing but dust and scrub plants as far as they could see, the flatness broken up only by jutting rock formations that stuck out like the broken bones of the earth. Their clothes had changed back to their original outfits, which Rinally had pointed out right away, patting her skirt with a loving sort of touch. Kaoru was also glad to be in his original clothes, finding an odd sort of comfort in the familiar after what he'd gone through in Halloween Town. Kai seemed indifferent to the whole affair. His attention instead seemed to turn toward trying to figure out where they were.

The Paths of Darkness they'd taken this time had been shorter than the others, and not as fraught with danger as some Paths before had been. Of course, Kai had been maintaining his Black Knight mode the entire time they had been in the World Between Worlds, which had granted them a measure of peace from the smaller and somewhat weaker Heartless. Even the ones that might have proven a challenge for them to fight seemed to take a look at Kai and think better of it. Besides that, they had heard the bass roar of the creature Kaoru and Rinally had first encountered when they had taken the Paths of Darkness, or at least they thought it was the same creature, and that had caused Kai to seek an alternate way out of the Darkness and to a new world. Kaoru couldn't help but feel as though they were being watched the entire time they were traveling through the World Between Worlds, and that the roar of that monster hadn't been a coincidence.

"I really hope we didn't end up in a wasteland." Rinally said.

"I guess we need to find high ground then." Kaoru replied, grinning at the pink-haired girl.

Rin smirked back. "The last time you did that, we ran into a princess and got attacked by a bear Heartless."

"I doubt we'll run into a princess here." Kai said blandly.

"You don't know that." Rinally started moving toward a jutting piece of rock that rose at a forty-five degree angle from the ground. "And you don't know if we'll be attacked by bear-Heartless, either."

"There _are_ Heartless here." Kai muttered, following close behind Rin. "Don't go walking off on your own."

"Don't worry so much. You think you can't protect me if something big came at us?"

"No. I think I can't protect myself if you start slinging magic around at the big something coming at us."

"Jerk."

Kaoru smiled and hurried after his friends, climbing up the rock after Kai and Rin, reaching for Kai's hand when the redhead turned back to help Kaoru climb the rough stone. Once they had all reached the top, they carefully made their way to the highest point of the formation, shielding their eyes from the glaring sunlight as they searched for any sign of civilization.

"There!" Kaoru said excitedly, pointing toward the northwest. "Can you see it? There's a city!"

Kai squinted, his lips pressing together as his face assumed an expression of pure concentration. "I see something glittering, but are you sure it's a city?"

Kaoru nodded. "It's a pretty big city. There's lots of buildings and glass and steel. It looks pretty modern. Reminds me of Paradise City, just, you know, smaller."

"I have to agree with Kai on this one, Kaoru," Rinally said. "I can see the glitter, but... I can't confidently say that it's a city I'm looking at."

"You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course!" both Kai and Rinally responded. "Though," Kai continued, "I might have second thoughts if we get into a fight and you decide to have a soft moment."

Kaoru glared at him. "That's not fair. What happened... I..." He cut himself off and looked away from his friends, staring at the city only he seemed to be able to recognize for what it was.

Rin punched Kai's shoulder. "That wasn't nice. You know how much yesterday cost him."

Kai glowered at her and rubbed his shoulder. "It's better to remind him now than in the crucial moment."

"Whatever." Rin tossed her hair and moved to grip Kaoru's hand. "Come on. We'll let Kai be a jerk by himself."

Kaoru glanced over his shoulder at Kai as Rin pulled him forward, jumping off the rock to the ground below. Kai shook his head and followed, moving up beside Kaoru. He leaned his head down toward the other boy's and whispered, "I meant it when I said I'd protect you."

Kaoru's lips twitched in a small but sad smile. "I know." he whispered back. "But... you're right. I can't afford to let my enemy get the better of me. It's not just for myself I'm fighting, but for you and Rin, for Sora, for Tae, even for Hiromu. And all the Worlds too. If I hesitate, I'm just putting you and Rin in more danger." The blonde's hand clenched into a fist. "Besides, I have to protect you, too."

Kai shook his head and wrapped his arm around Kaoru's shoulder to pull him close in a tight, quick hug. He pressed his lips to Kaoru's hair, then released the smaller boy before Rinally turned around and saw him having a soft moment himself. Kaoru wrapped his arm around Kai's waist and hugged him back. Then they released each other once more and walked side by side with Rinally as they headed toward the city. The three moved in near-silence in the wasteland, keeping their eyes and ears open for any sound or sight that seemed out of the ordinary.

The land around them seemed to be only of a monotone color, broken only by jutting rocks or scrub brush and the shadows thrown by those objects. The only sounds were their own breathing, and sometimes a howl echoed across the wind, but the three of them continued their journey relatively unaccosted by any Heartless or any monsters that happened to live on this world. There were a few times they had to beat back rather adventurous monsters that looked at them like they were tasty morsels, but they didn't encounter anything more dangerous as they headed toward the city. What they did encounter, however, was a bright sun. The rays beat down on them, giving them no respite from the harsh heat. Even if they tried to walk in the largest shadows they could find, it didn't give them much comfort. They shared what water and food they had between them, trying to make it last.

The city never seemed to get any closer, no matter how long they walked. Kaoru was beginning to wonder if they were walking in circles, trapped in a loop or something like that, where they could see their destination but never reach it. Kaoru looked up toward the sky and squinted. Not even a cloud in the sky to give them a break from the harsh sun. The dry dustiness of the air didn't give them a break either, making it rough to keep their throats from turning scratchy and hurting. The sun continued to climb higher in the sky, making the shadows switch directions slowly.

"Break time." Kaoru finally said, pointing toward a long shadow that spread itself out from its parent boulder. "We need to rest."

Rin grunted her agreement and started for the rock. Kaoru followed behind her, with Kai bringing up the rear. Rinally all but dropped into the shade, pressing her forehead to her knees with her eyes squeezed shut. Kaoru sat beside her and offered her his canteen of water, not that there was much left in it. Kai stood nearby, his eyes watching the horizon. Kaoru looked up at him, then followed the redhead's gaze toward the distance. The city still glimmered on the horizon, but it didn't look any larger than it had before.

"I doubt we'll reach it by nightfall." Kai said. "It looks like we came out pretty far away."

"Do you think it'll be easier for us to travel at night?" Rin asked.

Kai lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Could be. The temperature will definitely drop, but we wouldn't have to worry about the sun beating down on us."

"But more dangerous things could start wandering around." Kaoru pointed out. "If we're not careful, we could get killed before we even get halfway to the city."

"We keep on like we have been, and we'll die of thirst before we even get halfway to the city." Kai replied. "We didn't exactly prepare for this trip when we finished up in Halloween Town. We've got limited supplies."

"So do we keep moving or do we wait?" Rin asked.

Kaoru looked down at his shoes, studying the muted colors of his sneakers. He glanced then at his exposed skin, noting the redness his flesh seemed to have now. Rin and Kai didn't look much better, as both of them were slightly paler than Kaoru and were more affected by the sunlight. They were all tired. They were all thirsty. They were all hungry. If they kept traveling now, the chances of them collapsing from thirst and hunger and heat were very high. Yes, they might eat up more miles but that wouldn't mean anything if they passed out before they reached their destination. But if they waited for dark, they would have to contend with lower temperatures, which might mean they'd be battling frigid cold along with whatever monsters roamed the land at night. It was a catch-22. Either way, they were in danger. Either way, they were risking themselves. Either way, they needed to move, otherwise they would never get anywhere.

Kaoru got to his feet. Both Rin and Kai looked at him with unreadable expressions. He moved to the edge of the shade, past Kai, and looked out toward the city. "I can go by myself. I'm sure I can sustain myself with the sun's light, and you guys can catch up after dark."

"And what are you going to do about water?" Rin asked.

Kaoru shrugged.

"It's a stupid plan." Kai said abruptly. "We shouldn't split up in the first place. You can take care of yourself, but this is an unfamiliar world. There's no telling what's out there, and no telling if you'd be able to overcome it by yourself. If we move, or if we stay and wait, we do it together."

Rinally pushed herself to her feet and brushed dust off her skirt. "Let's keep moving. If worse comes to worst, I can use magic to give us some water. I don't know how it'll taste, but it would at least keep us hydrated."

"Then we keep moving?" Kaoru looked Kai and Rinally in the eyes, getting nods from each of them. He took a deep, chest-expanding breath, expelled it, then turned around and started for the city again. Kai and Rin were close behind him.

The hours crept by so slowly as they walked, and the sun continued its track through the sky. The city at last began to increase in size, becoming more distinct as they crept closer and closer. Kaoru could see individual buildings, huge cranes that hung motionless in the air, and suspended highways. There were flashes of movement, glimpses of things moving too fast to be sure of their identity, but Kaoru was certain they were cars.

At last, the desert and rocks and scrub brush gave way to clear land. Kaoru could see a road now, a well-traveled dirt road that stretched out from the city to their far right. He pointed it out to his friends, and they began to angle toward the road, keeping the city in sight so they wouldn't get too lost. Seeing the road gave them hope. If they found someone traveling toward the city on the road, then they might be able to catch a ride with them. They didn't know what kind of story they would tell, but Kaoru was certain it would be as close to the truth as they could get without actually giving anything away. He wasn't sure if Keyblade Wielders would be welcome in this place, or if anyone here actually knew about the Keyblade. He didn't want to alert any enemies to their presence, not wanting to give them an advantage over him and his friends.

It was dusk when they reached the road, but the only thing on the stretch of dirt were dust devils and tumbleweeds. There were signs that vehicles had passed to and from the city, as the dirt was impressed with the tracks of tires. Kaoru swallowed hard, his throat feeling dry and scratchy. He almost reached for his canteen, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to use the last of the water just to relieve himself, and then have Rin waste her magic on making them more.

"Here." Kai shoved his water canteen into Kaoru's field of vision. Kaoru looked up at him, frowning. "Just take it. The night is coming. I'll be fine."

"We'll be at the city soon." Kaoru protested.

Kai's eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded and withdrew his arm.

Rinally shook her head with a soft huff. "You two are hopeless."

"Shut up." Kaoru and Kai said at the same time.

She gave them an impish smile. "It won't take much to cast a Water spell. Drink it. I think I can handle it. Besides, we really _are_ almost to the city."

Kaoru shook his head. "We don't know how long it'll take to walk there, even following the road. I can wait."

Rinally eyed him, as if she couldn't quite decide if she'd get away with ordering him to drink or not, especially with Kai standing so close. But she nodded. "Fine, but when you can't stand it anymore, I'm gonna sic Kai on you."

"Don't talk about me like I'm a rabid dog."

"What was it you said earlier? He's your Light, and so it's your responsibility to protect him." Rin grinned widely and skipped past Kai and Kaoru, heading down the road toward the city.

Kai glowered at her back. "Do we really have to keep her around?"

"Do you know any healing spells?" Kaoru asked.

The redhead snarled softly under his breath and stomped after Rinally, with Kaoru trailing behind with a small smile.

The sun slowly continued its sinking path, bathing the sky in bright hues of sunset and the colors of the growing night. Traveling on the road was a little easier, though the dirt shifted easily under their feet. They kept toward the center of the road, walking almost single-file. The darkness began to grow around them, but with the darkness came the bright face of a rising moon and the tiny pinpricks of stars. Kaoru watched in amazement as the bright world of day gave way to the whitewashed world of night, suffused with darkness but illuminated by a pale glow that turned the entire landscape into a monochrome matte painting. Kaoru thought it was absolutely beautiful. He looked toward Kai, finding his friend walking with a relaxed step. Kai's red hair looked steely grey in the monochrome light, and his eyes had once more taken on the black and gold colors of the Heartless.

"What do you see when your eyes change like that?" Kaoru asked softly, coming to walk beside Kai.

Kai shrugged. "More definition in the areas in total darkness. The light of hearts. I can see the glow of your heart and Rin's, and I can see lots of hearts in the city."

"Is it just the light of hearts you can see?"

"So far, yeah. I can also tell when Heartless are getting close. It's a strange feeling; it's like my skin is being pricked by thousands of needles and I can almost hear what they're saying."

Kaoru looked up at Kai with a confused expression. "The Heartless can talk?"

Kai shook his head. "Not like you and me, but they have their own form of communication. I can almost understand it, but I feel like I'd go mad if I listened for too long."

"I've never heard them say anything."

"That's because you're not part of the Darkness. I'm sure there are things you can see that I can't. Like the light or darkness within people."

Kaoru shrugged. "I've only seen the light within a few people, like a Princess of Heart and other people who just have a great connection to it. And I've only ever seen your darkness."

"My previous statement stands."

Kaoru smiled and shook his head, but kept pace with Kai and Rin as they followed the road toward the city. The night grew darker and darker as they traveled, and the stars competed with the city for brightness. The city still never seemed to get any closer, despite the distance they covered.

Rinally paused, half turning back to look at Kai and Kaoru. "Do you hear that?"

Kai frowned, canting his head at her. Then he closed his eyes and listened. Kaoru lifted his shoulders in a shrug; he couldn't hear what his friends obviously could. Finally, Kai opened his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. Sounds like an engine."

"Like a car engine." Rinally clarified.

Kai nodded again. "Yeah."

The three of them turned at the same time to look behind them, just in time to see a pair of headlights illuminate the night. Kai threw up an arm to shield his eyes, as did Kaoru and Rinally, though they weren't as badly affected by the sudden glare of light as Kai was. Still, the sudden appearance of the headlights froze them in their places for a moment, and by the time they got their wits back about them, it was too late to throw themselves to the side to avoid a collision. Tires squealed even on the dirt as the truck's brakes locked, and Kaoru found himself staring at the grille of a rather old, beat-up pickup truck mere inches away from his nose. Kai and Rinally both let out an expletive and Kaoru released a shaky breath as he realized just how close to becoming a Keyblade wielder smear he'd come.

The doors of the truck slammed open. "Are you okay?" called a woman's voice.

"They better be okay! Damn kids! Don't they know better than to be walkin' on a road at night?"

"Stop it, Barret." She came around the truck into the headlights, a tall woman with long brunette hair and kind dark eyes. Her outfit was completely black, save for where her pale skin remained uncovered. Her companion, Barret, was a big man, with short dark hair, mocha-brown skin, and one arm seemed to be made of some sort of silvery metal. He wore only combat boots and dark green pants, along with a chainmail vest that left nothing of his upper body to the imagination. He scowled at the three teenagers, as if them being there was an obstacle he hadn't been expecting. "Are you three okay?"

Kaoru nodded wordlessly. He couldn't help but stare at her. The woman was glowing with a soft inner light, muted somewhat, but still there. Still, it only seemed like she was glowing with half the light she should've been glowing with. She seemed to notice his staring, but she only smiled and said nothing about it. Instead, she said, "That's good. I was afraid that you'd gotten hurt. You know, it's really dangerous to be traveling in the middle of the road."

"We know, but," Rin gestured to the land around them, "it was better than wandering lost in the wild. We've been trying to make it to the city."

Barret and the woman looked at each other. "Where did you three come from?" Barret asked.

Kaoru glanced and Rin and Kai, then back to the woman and her companion. He swallowed. "We came from, um, Halloween Town?"

Technically it was the truth. That place had been the last world they had been on. The woman's eyebrows shot up to her hairline and even Barret looked shocked. They looked at each other, expressions changing on their faces far too fast for Kaoru to interpret them all. Kaoru took a step back toward the solid presences of Kai and Rinally, feeling a little safer with them at his back. The woman looked back at them, her dark eyes studying each of them. If she noticed how defensive the three were becoming, she didn't indicate it. She folded her arms over her chest and leaned her weight back on her left foot. Barret also assumed a similar position, though his metal arm he kept down by his side, his eyes riveted on Kaoru.

"Are you saying you came from an outside world?" the woman asked.

Kaoru nodded.

"And you're trying to get to Edge?"

Kaoru nodded again.

The woman and Barret again looked at each other, the expressions on their faces now incredibly concerned. "Well," said Barret, "we ain't solvin' anything standin' around here talkin'. We can take the kids to Seventh Heaven. They'll be safe enough there."

"I guess you're right." The woman looked toward Kaoru and his friends and gave them a smile. "My name is Tifa. This is my friend Barret. How about this? We'll take you to Edge with us and you can stay at my place, and then you can get some rest and tell us what's brought you here?"

Kaoru glanced back at Rin and Kai. They both lifted their shoulders in a shrug. "It's that or walk," Kai whispered.

"And it probably wouldn't hurt to have someone watching our backs," Rinally said. "I'm not sure if we can trust them one hundred percent, but they seem like okay people. Besides, we need a place to stay, and maybe it wouldn't hurt if we could get them to feed us."

"Do you always think with your stomach?" Kai asked.

"Only when I'm hungry." Rin replied, giving him an razor ice smile.

Kaoru shook his head. "Stop it." He turned back to Tifa and Barret. "What guarantee do we have that you aren't lying to us?"

When Tifa smiled this time, it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Because I'm guessing you came here without a Gummi ship, and the only people who can do that are those who wield Keyblades. So, get in the truck."

Taken aback, Kaoru, Kai, and Rin were frozen for a second, but after a minute of hesitation, they moved to follow Tifa's orders. They climbed into the bed of the truck and Tifa and Barret got back into the cabin. The engine once more let out a throaty growl into the night, and the truck rolled down the road toward the city of Edge.


	40. Chapter 40

Thirty-Nine - Edge

"How are they?"

Marlene looked up at Tifa as she finished descending the stairs. She smiled. "Still sleeping. It looks like they haven't gotten any decent rest for a while."

Tifa finished drying a glass and set it in its place on the shelf nearby and sighed. "I might have been a little rough on them last night."

Marlene took a seat on a bar stool and folded her arms on the countertop. "Tifa, I've known you for a long time. That wasn't even your worst. It wasn't even your 'mom' voice."

Tifa smiled at the young woman, unsure if she wanted to feel relieved by Marlene's words or if she wanted to feel ashamed by them. After she and Barret had run into Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally on the road outside Edge, they had brought them here, to the Seventh Heaven. Once the teenagers had been cornered, so to speak, Tifa and Barret had enlisted the help of Denzel and Marlene to get information out of the three teenagers. They had learned that Kaoru and Kai were both Keyblade wielders, and the two had even proven their statements by summoning Guardian and Sanctuary. The three had been traveling to many different worlds using the Paths of Darkness, the World Between Worlds, and that was how they had ended up so far from Edge in the middle of the wilderness. If Tifa and Barret hadn't come along when they did, the three of them would have probably camped out that night, surviving on whatever supplies they had between them, until they could continue on.

They still didn't know what the three of them were doing here. Kaoru admitted that they usually didn't know until they found some clue that pointed them in a certain direction. They just ended up where they ended up, usually on a world that needed them. Tifa and Barret had been away for a while, so they didn't know anything about current news, but Denzel and Marlene had said nothing had changed, and there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary going on. After that, Tifa had made a light meal for Kaoru, Kai, and Rin, and then Marlene had shown them the bathroom, where the three had taken turns getting baths. Tifa had gathered up their clothes, giving them spare ones from both Marlene and Denzel's collection to wear until she had laundered theirs. After that, she had sent them to bed.

They had slept through the night and now through most of the morning. Barret had already left to see if he could contact Reeve, and Denzel had gone to try and talk with Rufus and the Turks.

"If anyone knows anything about what's going on," Denzel had said, "it would be them."

That left Tifa and Marlene with the three teenagers.

"I kind of wish Cloud was here, or at least we could contact him. Him and Sora," Marlene said, tracing a whorl in the wood of the bar with her fingertips. "They'd know what to do."

"Cloud's off doing Cloud-things on Radiant Garden, and Sora is who knows where." Tifa replied grumpily. Though Cloud had begun to split his time between Radiant Garden and Edge, he still spent a majority of his time at Radiant Garden. She knew why; Cloud had explained it to her once, but she didn't quite understand it. He'd told her that, when the worlds were destroyed and they were scattered to darkness, his soul had found a home in the body of another Cloud. Two couldn't exist, and his soul proved the stronger, absorbing that of the other Cloud. It made him part of two worlds, with memories both his own and not, and it had taken some time to come to terms with that. When she had asked him why she hadn't been affected like he'd been, Cloud had shrugged his shoulders and had said, "Maybe there weren't two of you."

If she thought about it, it made sense. After Edge had been destroyed and subsequently remade, her memories hadn't quite been the same. Nor had the people in her life been the same. People who should have been there weren't. Or, they were different than how they had been. Yuffie was one such person. Even though she came with Cloud now and then, she looked at Edge like a tourist might. She didn't remember her life here, among Tifa and the rest. Cid was another one. And seeing Aerith again had thrown Tifa for a long while, considering what had happened to her. It had taken a while for Tifa to rebuild her relationships with them, for she had to make a conscious effort not to override who those people were now with what they had been.

As for Sora... Sora came and went without rhyme or reason, but he always seemed to have the same sixth sense Cloud did about his friends being in danger.

"Maybe I should try to contact Vincent." Marlene said absently.

"Maybe. He might have a better insight than we do."

"I'll see what Dad can turn up with Reeve first, then. Shelke might have some answers too."

Tifa canted her head to one side in half an acquiescence. Shelke had taken a job with Reeve and his WRO, as her abilities proved her rather influential when it came to gathering data. She still hadn't changed much since her days in Deepground, but she had become a little more open, especially after she had met, and become friends with, Denzel and Marlene.

Marlene leaned back and stretched. "But I really wonder why they're here. I mean, we've had peace for a long, long time. If anything rears its ugly head, you and Dad and everyone are always right there to stop it."

"As they said, they end up where they're meant to end up."

"But the question is _why_ they end up where they end up." Marlene twirled around on her stool and jumped to her feet. "I'm gonna go wander around the streets, see if I can hear anything new. Maybe the reason why we haven't learned anything yet is because nothing's happened yet."

"Even still, be careful." Tifa called after her. Marlene gave her a brilliant smile and a wave, then disappeared out of the Seventh Heaven's door.

Tifa sighed. She set the newest glass down on the shelf and moved toward door that hid to the staircase that led up to the living quarters. She listened, but she couldn't hear any movement. Still sleeping then. She returned to the sink and stared at the dishes that still needed to be scrubbed and dried. _I don't like this feeling,_ Tifa decided. _It's like being keyed up for a battle that isn't even engaged yet._

"Ah, well," Tifa said aloud, "I guess we'll see what happens when it happens. I should probably make some food for them. Teenagers are always hungry."

oooo

Kai quietly shut the bedroom door and silently padded back over to where Kaoru lay, his eyes half open as he stared at the ceiling. Rin sat cross-legged by Kaoru's feet, her hair pulled back into a tail. Her fingers traced the flower decorations of the barrettes she normally wore, a longing motion. Kai climbed back onto the bed and Kaoru pushed himself up to sit, looking at the redhead in askance.

"She's making lunch." Kai replied, his voice low but not quite a whisper. "She seems to be the only one here."

Kaoru let out a soft sigh. "We've stirred up a beehive."

"I think Tifa and the others are much different than what we've encountered so far." Rin said quietly. "They're warriors. They've been through life-or-death situations before. It doesn't phase them."

"That's not what I meant."

Both Kai and Rin looked at him curiously. Kaoru looked out the window to the city. "When we told them that we end up where we end up, mostly because the world is in danger, they looked shocked. They couldn't believe that their world _could_ be in danger. What if the world is in danger now _because_ of us?"

His friends were quiet. Then Kai said, "We may be the catalyst, but we're definitely not the cause."

Kaoru looked at Kai with a confused expression. Kai shrugged. "Think about it. You've always ended up on a world which needs the Keyblade. With Belle, it was to save the Beast from becoming a monster controlled by the Brotherhood. With Pocahontas, it was to stop Ratcliffe and save John and the rest of the people on that world. With Lumina Cross, it was to save me and stop Secundus. We got a break with Twilight Town because it pointed us in Tae's direction."

Kaoru gripped Tae's necklace, which he'd transferred from his headphones to around his own neck. He was afraid of losing it, and it brought him some semblance of comfort to have it with him at all times. His headphones sat nearby on the nightstand. "You got us to Halloween Town." he pointed out.

Kai nodded. "And we discovered we were fighting the Brotherhood, and what they were up to, because we encountered Hiromu. We also learned where Tae is, and that she's pretty much protected from whatever the Brotherhood had planned for her, since Hiromu did what he did."

"And now we ended up here." Rinally said. "And because we have, people like Tifa are going to be on high alert and looking for trouble where there may not be any. That's what you're getting at."

Kaoru nodded. "What if because we're here, the Brotherhood moves to another world we can't get to? Or what if they step up their operations here?"

"What if the sky turns purple and chickens dive bomb the shit out of us?" Kai said. "No matter what we do, someone is always going to be in danger, Kaoru. No matter how hard we try, someone is always going to be hurt. The difference here, now, is that the people we've encountered _can_ actually fight. Like Rin said, they're warriors. They've done this shit before. It doesn't phase them. And, what's more, they _understand_ what we're doing. They want to help us."

Kaoru looked toward Kai, unsure what he was seeing in the redhead's green eyes. He wasn't sure how to articulate what he was feeling right now. He wasn't sure how to tell his friends about his uncertainty, about how he felt as if his presence here was driving the danger closer and closer to the people he cared about. He'd come to terms with what had happened to him in Halloween Town, with Hiromu's shift in attitude, and with the fact that he and his friends were pretty much all that was standing between the Brotherhood and their goals. Even still, Hiromu's words haunted him, that events he'd encountered and had participated in just might be his fault. It had been because of him that Gaston had turned into a monster. It had been because of him that Pocahontas's father had been shot and Kocoum had been killed. While he hadn't been the one to put the black rod inside of Gaston nor had he been the one to pull the trigger, his presence there had been, as Kai had said, the catalyst.

And if they _were_ the catalyst here, who else would get hurt because of him? Would Tifa get hurt? Marlene? Denzel? Barret? Anyone _they_ cared about?

"Are you okay, Kaoru?" Rinally asked, studying his face. "You've never wondered about things like this before. You've always known what we have to do in order to save the world and its people. You've never second-guessed yourself and you've never blamed yourself, or us, for anything we've encountered before."

Kaoru looked at her, unable to find the words he desperately needed. He lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug.

"Is this about Hiromu again?"

Kaoru looked at Kai and shook his head. "No, not about Hiromu. It's not about what we have to do or what we need to do to protect this world and others from whatever it is the Brotherhood is after. It's..." he paused, words failing him again. Unable to find the right words, he lifted his shoulders again in a shrug.

Kai reached out and wrapped his arm around Kaoru's neck. He pulled the blonde close to him, pressing their foreheads together so they were staring right into each other's eyes. "Like I said, dive-bombing chickens. Remember what you told me about choice, Kaoru? That's what's happening here. If things start to go bad, we're right here to stop it, and we're not alone this time."

"I don't want to get anyone hurt." Kaoru whispered softly.

"The only way anyone will get hurt is if you're not there to protect them." Kai said just as softly.

Kaoru stared into Kai's eyes for a long time before he nodded. He pulled back as soon as Kai released him. Kai sat back as well, though his eyes never left Kaoru.

Rin reached up to clip her barrettes back into her hair and said, "The problem is, I think, is that we're being purely reactionary. The Brotherhood moves and we move to put them in check. We don't have any advantages, save for what our skills and your Keyblades give us. So until we get more information, we can only sit tight and wait."

Footsteps sounded in the hallway outside the door, and then a polite rap of the knuckles came before Tifa opened the door and stuck her head in. She didn't seem quite surprised to see the three of them awake, though her eyes roamed over them as if she were assessing them. "Are you three hungry?" Tifa asked. "Oh, and I have your clothes." She set them on the table just inside the door. "I'll leave them here. When you're ready, come on downstairs."

She closed the door and they heard her footsteps retreating.

Rinally slid off the bed and walked to the table, retrieving her clothes first. "I'll see you two downstairs." She left the room, closed the door behind her, and walked down the hall.

Kai didn't move. Neither did Kaoru. The two simply looked at each other, now that they were alone. Kaoru wondered if he could get away with sliding off the bed without provoking Kai somehow. Ever since awakening his Black Knight mode, Kai seemed to have become more sensitive to Kaoru's shifts in moods. Of course, Kaoru hadn't been acting himself since Halloween Town, and they all knew it. Now, with his words still fresh between them, Kai was even more focused on Kaoru than before.

Finally, Kai spoke. "Can you summon Guardian?"

"What?" Kaoru asked, startled.

"Can you summon Guardian?"

Unsure what his friend was getting at, Kaoru held out his hand. His gold and silver Keyblade materialized in the air between them, and Kaoru curled his fingers around Guardian's hilt, holding tight to the Keyblade. Kai looked at the Keyblade, studying each whorl and twirl and inch of the Keyblade's length. Then Kai reached out and placed his hand over Kaoru's, trapping his hand against Guardian's hilt. He pushed himself to his knees, where he could loom slightly over Kaoru, which forced Kaoru to look up at him, and he used that new leverage to push Guardian closer to Kaoru's chest. It also brought them closer together, so much so that Kaoru had to brace himself with his free hand to keep from being pushed onto his back.

"Kai?" Kaoru questioned softly.

"If you, in your heart, weren't confident in what you were to do here, Guardian wouldn't have come to your hand." Kai replied. "I know how confused you are, how scared you are. Believe me, I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me or because of anything I might start, whether I know I started it or not. But I also couldn't live with myself if I was too scared or too confused that I became completely frozen and useless and people died because of it."

Kaoru's mouth worked but no sound came out. Guardian vanished in a burst of light, leaving his hand tightly curled within Kai's. Kai loosened his hold only to twine his fingers with Kaoru's, holding their joined hands up between them.

"I know you're raw and vulnerable right now. You've seen things that disturbed you on a deep, deep level. And then with Hiromu..." Kai trailed off, his eyes blazing gold for a moment before returning to their natural green. "Then with him, being betrayed like that opened a wound in your heart that is desperately trying to heal, but doubt is creeping in, keeping that wound open."

"I told you I wouldn't hesitate." Kaoru whispered.

"No, you won't. Not in battle. But you might before battle's engaged. That's what your doubt is about. Why you're asking these questions. I told you before, none of this is your fault. _You_ didn't cause any of this. They chose. You choose to stand against them. And if you choose not to, you know what happens."

Kaoru nodded, looking down at his and Kai's twined fingers. "How did you deal with it? I mean, before you and I met?"

"You mean after my parents died?"

"Yeah."

"I thought about nothing but getting revenge. Of killing Secundus. I blamed him for everything. But I also blamed myself. What if I had worked just a little harder to help my parents? What if I had just gotten a little more for them to eat, or, what if I had gotten just a little more medicine? But you can't think about what if's and you can't think about what you could have done. You have to look at what you can do, now and in the future, and look at what you have that you want to protect, and do all you can to keep it safe." Kai closed his eyes and let out a long sigh before reopening them. "That doesn't mean I still don't think about it on occasion, and it doesn't mean I still don't blame myself at times. That's human. It's normal. But if you accept that what happened happened, and that at that particular time, there was nothing else that could have been done differently, then it hurts less."

"Does it every go away?"

"What?"

"The hurt."

"Not that I know of, yet. But I'm willing to find out. If you're willing to find out with me."

Kaoru looked into Kai's eyes and finally offered a little bit of a smile. "Are you saying you're going to try to catch me if I start to fall?"

Kai returned the smile with a quirk of his mouth. "Not try. I _will_ catch you. And I know you'll catch me." Then, after a moment's visible hesitation, he dipped his head and pressed his lips to Kaoru's.

At first, Kaoru wasn't sure what to do. Kai had hinted before at attempting a move like this, but he hadn't gone through with it. Now, though, he seemed to have gotten the confidence to go through with it. Kaoru had never kissed anyone before - not on the lips anyway - and it was an entirely new experience for him. When it seemed like Kai was going to pull away, Kaoru leaned into Kai's mouth, trying to kiss him back. Something akin to a chuckle escaped Kai and his free hand cupped the back of Kaoru's head, allowing the kiss to become deeper.

How long they kissed, Kaoru wasn't sure, but then Kai at last pulled back and said, "Breathe, Kaoru."

Kaoru inhaled deeply. His cheeks felt hot. Kai was smiling, looking incredibly pleased with himself. "How did you learn to kiss like that?" Kaoru asked.

Kai's green eyes glinted with amusement. "You're the first one I've ever kissed. So, maybe, it's just instinct. I can tell I'm the first one you've ever kissed as well."

Kaoru flushed redder.

"So. You want breakfast?"

Kaoru gave Kai a playful shove and followed him off the bed, each boy grabbing their clothes to change and then head downstairs where Rin was sitting at the bar, already digging into a plate of eggs, toast, bacon, and fried potatoes. Rinally looked up at them as they entered, a single eyebrow raising. Kai pointedly ignored her as he sat down and began to dig into his own plate, but Kaoru couldn't keep the blush from his cheeks as she turned her gaze to him. Her eyebrow rose higher and Kaoru knew that, as soon as they were alone, Rin would press him for details. So he sat beside Kai and grabbed his fork, pointedly focusing his gaze on the fluffy pile of eggs before him.

Rin turned back to her own plate, but not before she gave Kaoru a knowing smile.

"How is it?" Tifa asked.

"It's good." Rinally answered. "Best thing I've had to eat in a while."

Kai made a noncommittal noise and pushed his potatoes around his plate with his fork.

Tifa glanced at him, tilted her head slightly, but smiled after a moment. "I've been taking care of kids like you for a long time. It's been a while, though, since I've had teenagers around."

"Where did everyone go?" Kaoru asked.

"They went to talk with some of our other friends and see if they've noticed anything strange. If you want information, then they're the ones to be talking to." Tifa glanced at the clock that hung on the wall behind the bar. "They should be back soon, and then we can figure out our next course of action."

"Our?"

Tifa smiled at Kaoru. "I've been in the fighting business for a long time now. So have the rest of my friends. When our world comes under attack, whether from outsiders or from within, we won't stand by and let it happen. And we won't let you fight on your own."

Kaoru focused on Tifa and frowned. "What if you can't fight against whatever it is?"

Tifa's eyes slightly hardened. "Then we fight anyway. There is nothing in all the worlds that can't be overcome, whether by intelligence or the right application of force. Even if everything looks hopeless, as long as you have hope here, in your heart, then it's not really hopeless now, is it?" She moved closer to Kaoru and leaned on the counter, her face close to his in a manner that reminded him of his mother, how she would lean close and stare into his eyes, as if she was trying to figure out if he was lying to her or not. "The worst thing you can do is to do nothing. You have the power to save lives, to save worlds, and to _not_ use it would be the worst abuse of it. If you aren't willing to stand between the weak and the strong as a protector and defender, then what's the point of having the power?"

She gently laid her hand on Kaoru's blonde hair, ruffled it a bit, then moved away from the bar and headed around into the dining area to greet a few guests that had entered the Seventh Heaven.

Kaoru stared at the breakfast in front of him and idly pushed around his eggs with his fork. _Hope._ That was where power really came from, wasn't it? As long as he had hope, then he couldn't be defeated, no matter what happened. Suddenly he understood what had kept Kai going throughout the long years after his parents had died and the day he met Kaoru. Kai had held onto the scrap of hope that he would one day get revenge against Secundus. That had been what had kept him going. And Rinally too. She had hope that, one day, she would be reunited with her family. Kaoru himself had had hope that he would one day find Hiromu and Tae, and that they would travel together in one big group. That hope had been destroyed in Halloween Town, when Hiromu had tried to kill him. There _was_ a wound in his heart, left gaping by the absence of the hope he'd held onto for months.

He was sure Kai and Rin and Tifa had had their own moments of hopelessness, but they had never given up. They had continued on, holding on to _something_ that told them it would be just fine if they kept moving forward. He'd stopped believing in everything he'd hoped. He'd stopped believing that everything would work out in the end and everything would be okay. He'd given up. But how could he give up now, after coming so far? How could he give up hope now? Hiromu and Tae were alive. The hope that they would still be together one day was still alive. And there were so many other hopes now that Kaoru realized he had, and he felt something in his heart shift, as if it was a puzzle piece sliding into its proper place. It still hurt, but it hurt just a little less now.

He noticed both Kai and Rinally watching him. He looked first at Kai - his friend, his opposite, someone he loved - and then to Rinally - his first companion, his best friend, someone who he cared about - and smiled. Strangers before, but now his friends, and the undeniable source of his power, for it was they who gave him that hope.

Rinally smiled back. "I like that look in your eyes, Kaoru. I missed seeing that."

Kai's lips twitched into a lazy, satisfied smile. He didn't need to say anything, for he had said it all already. No matter what, if Kaoru started to fall, Kai would catch him. Then he pointedly looked at Kaoru's plate and said, "Eat."

Kaoru laughed softly and obeyed.


	41. Chapter 41

Forty - Edge

They helped Tifa with chores after they finished eating, since there was little else they could do right now. Tifa wasn't about to let them go out on their own and wander the city, and she knew kids well enough that, if the three of them weren't given something to do, they'd get into trouble sooner or later. So Rinally helped Tifa take care of any customers that came into the bar, while Kaoru and Kai washed dishes or swept the floors or did whatever else it was Tifa came up with. Kaoru didn't mind it so much. He was used to doing chores, so the routine was familiar and somewhat comforting. Kai, however, didn't seem to know what to do with himself when he had finished a task Tifa had assigned him, and looked almost a little lost when a dust rag was shoved into his hands. Kaoru thought it was amusing that Kai couldn't even pretend to be domestic, despite the fact he was trying.

They were just considering what to have for lunch when the front door to the Seventh Heaven opened. The man who entered was tall, dressed in a charcoal-grey suit that was impeccably tailored to his form. Short blonde hair was styled in a no-nonsense business cut and his eyes were unreadable icy chips of blue. Coming in behind him were three men and one woman, all dressed in the same black suit. The redhead and the bald suits took up positions by the door, with the former relaxing back against the wall with his hands shoved into his pockets and the latter standing stiffly with his arms crossed over his chest. The other two, the man with long black hair and almond-shaped eyes with a strange red dot in the center of his forehead and the young woman with her blonde hair cut page-boy style, followed the blonde man closer to where Tifa stood with Rinally.

Tifa suddenly seemed bigger to Kaoru as she shifted her body to put herself between Rin and the blonde man, her eyes narrowed but her face otherwise impassive. Both he and Kai were tense themselves, but they weren't sure how to react to these people. They were dangerous, that much Kaoru could sense, but just _how_ dangerous, he wasn't sure.

"Tifa."

"Rufus." The name was said almost coldly, though there was a slight hint of respect in the syllables.

Rufus, the blonde man, glanced at Rinally, then turned his head toward Kai and Kaoru. "Denzel came by." he said as he turned his attention back to Tifa.

Tifa's eyes seemed to narrow even more. "I don't see him here."

"He's with Marlene." Rufus's lips twitched. "Honestly, Tifa, we've known each other for how long? Surely you don't think I'd do anything untoward to your son."

Tifa's lips thinned into a line. "Honestly, Rufus, I don't know what you'd do to get ahead in the game. But we all have a history, and long memories."

That smile that had begun to form on Rufus's lips faded. He canted his head, as it to acknowledge that she had won that round of verbal sparring. Then he gestured to a vacant table. "May I sit?"

Tifa folded her arms over her chest. "Depends on how long you intend to stay. If you've come just to take a peek at the kids, you've had it. Get the hell out. But if you've come to be useful, _then_ you can sit."

Rufus dragged out a chair deliberately slowly, then settled into it with all the air of a mob boss. The two suits with him took up positions behind him. The woman glanced over at Kai and Kaoru and offered them a friendly smile. Rufus folded his hands together and settled his elbows on the table, pointedly looking at the chair opposite him. Gesturing for the boys to come closer, Tifa sat down in the chair across from Rufus, with Kai, Kaoru, and Rin arrayed behind her.

"Denzel came asking some vague questions." Rufus began, even as the blonde woman began laying a stack of five manila folders on the table between him and Tifa. "Discussing it further with him, we learned of your guests. He was very careful in trying not to reveal too much, but one can read between the lines."

Tifa didn't even glance at the folders. "So what is this? Just a field trip to lord your incredible knowledge over us?"

Rufus's lips twisted into a wolfish smile. "It's much more than that. I also conferred with Reeve and learned Barret had been by to see him. And I happened to overhear that Marlene managed to get into contact with Vincent. With all those clues, it wasn't hard to figure out that your group was moving, looking for something. So with Reeve's help, I managed to dig up a few clues to point your guests in what is, hopefully, the right direction."

Tifa frowned, but reached for one of the five folders. She pulled it closer and flipped it open. Kaoru peered down at it, seeing photographs of an abandoned town that looked far too well-maintained to be really abandoned. There was a photograph of a mansion, the only building that actually looked like it had sustained damage, and there was a photograph of a mountain at night, glowing brightly with an eerie green light. Kai shifted around from behind Tifa and reached for another folder, opening it to reveal photographs of a light-filled lake surrounded by dark trees.

"Nibelheim, the Cetra Ruins, the Forgotten City, the Northern Crater," Rufus said, "and Midgar itself. Each place has seen increased activity lately that isn't what you or I would consider normal. There are always tourists who want to visit these places for one reason or another, and-"

"And normally, you let them, provided they're supervised and have paid the fees." Tifa said blandly.

Rufus didn't acknowledge her verbal barb with a response, save to tilt his head to one side. "As I was saying, there have been increased activity in these places. These are the most recent pictures we've been able to take. Reeve and Shelke have confirmed that there's been skirmishes between whatever's there and their WRO, but the men aren't killed or wounded seriously. That isn't to say there haven't been disappearances, but since Reeve hasn't asked for help, I figure those disappearances are being handled."

Kaoru moved around the table to stand next to Kai, studying the pictures before him. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for the ones with the destroyed mansion in the pristine town. He couldn't see anything in the pictures that might give away clues to what Rufus was talking about. Yet as he looked down at the picture of the ruined city, the one Rufus had identified as Midgar, he felt his heart skip a beat. There was nothing in the image that could elicit such a reaction, but Kaoru somehow inexplicably could _feel_ something about that photo, something that was neither right nor wrong but just was.

Rufus leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. "I know how leery you and your people are about outside help, but I think even Cloud would agree with me this time."

Kaoru looked up from the photograph, suddenly aware that he'd missed something in the conversation while he had been drawn into the still image. Both Tifa and Rufus were glaring at each other, as if both were loathe to admit the other was right. Then Tifa leaned forward and tapped her finger against the table. "I doubt Cloud would agree with you about anything," she said, "but he's not here to speak for himself. So what do you want, Rufus? You don't just give out information like this for free."

Rufus's smile didn't quite reach his icy blue eyes. "What do I want? I want to be kept in the loop. Edge is just as much my city as it is yours."

"That's a very polite answer." Tifa retorted. "And it tells me nothing."

"I'll send my people to go check things out, discreetly." Rufus said. His eyes flicked toward Kaoru, Rin, and Kai. "They bring back anything they find, and you let me speak with those three for a while."

"And what makes you think we want to talk with you?" Kai said, his deep voice holding a barely disguised growl. "We don't even know you."

"And besides," Rin added, "we can go check out these places ourselves. We don't need help. Especially from suits."

Rufus's eyes landed on Kaoru. "And what's your opinion?"

Kaoru frowned slightly. "I mean... they're not wrong. We _can_ go check out these places ourselves. Just... we don't know where any of these places are, or how to get there. But what I don't understand is why you're lying to Tifa."

Rufus's brow raised slightly. "What makes you think I'm lying to her?"

Kaoru shrugged. "The way you're acting. If this was just a friendly chat to exchange information and to talk to us, then why bring the bodyguards inside? Also, these pictures look like they were taken recently, like in the last few hours. So you've already been investigating things and you have just as many answers as we do, which is about nothing. And I don't know why you want to talk to us, anyway. We can't have much to offer by way of information."

Now it was Tifa's turn to lean back in her chair. She crossed her arms over her chest with a smug smile. "Well, Rufus? Is Kaoru right?"

Rufus's expression didn't change, but Kaoru was certain he wasn't pleased with Kaoru's assessment. He didn't change his position, but Rufus still seemed to grow a little bit bigger as he locked eyes with Kaoru. This was a dangerous man sitting before him. Dangerous and always thinking one or two steps ahead. "He isn't wrong." Rufus finally said. "I've been keeping an eye on these places, since the activity there started. However, I haven't been able to glean anything about our secretive friends. Yet, I have a feeling you, Kaoru, have a pretty good idea of who might be crawling around there."

Kaoru looked toward Rin and Kai, then back at Rufus. "If I tell you, you'll take us here?" His finger landed on the photograph of the ruins of Midgar.

Tifa shifted uncomfortably. "Why do you want to go there, Kaoru?"

"Because something's there. I don't know what, and I don't know if it's good or evil. But I have this feeling that I ought to check it out, one way or another." He kept staring at Rufus. "Well? Do we have a deal or not?"

Rufus's lips twitched. He leaned forward then and offered his hand to Kaoru. "We have a deal, young man."

Kaoru took Rufus's hand and fought not to wince at the hard grip the blonde man had. They shook hands, sealing their bargain, and Kaoru then picked up the picture of Midgar. "The people we're fighting, the people Sora is fighting, are called The Brotherhood. As far as we know, they're led by a man named Ennio. He's been the one going around manipulating events and people in order to see what a concentrated amount of Darkness can do to someone who's solely Light-oriented. The Brotherhood can already control the Heartless, using these little black rods, but they want to see if they can control someone who has no darkness whatsoever inside them."

Rufus frowned. "Other than the Princesses of Heart, I doubt there's anyone in the known worlds that is completely without darkness inside their hearts."

Tifa shook her head. "That's not exactly true. Aerith is like that. I doubt she has a mean bone in her body."

Rufus conceded her point. "But there's no one _here_ who is like that. The Brotherhood has no reason to be sniffing around the ruins of an old city."

Kaoru shook his head. "It isn't just that. They're looking for any way to give themselves an advantage. A friend..." He paused, tensed for a second, then relaxed, "a friend of mine works for them. He's their Keyblade wielder. He told me that a war is coming between Light and Darkness, and the Brotherhood is working against Sora and Riku in order to protect everything Sora and Riku are trying to destroy."

"Sora and Riku are working to protect the worlds from an encroachment of darkness." spoke Tifa, her face twisted into a confused expression. "If anything, they're also working to prevent the Light from becoming too dominant."

"I admit that when it comes to the activities of those two, and those closest to them," Rufus said, "I don't have the slightest clue as to what they're up to. We've crossed paths a few times, and from those encounters I can tell those two are the most likely to get themselves involved if they think something is getting out of balance. But what I don't understand is why this Brotherhood would think Sora is trying to destroy anything."

"Do bad guys need a logical reason to do evil?" Rinally asked.

The silence that followed was answer enough.

Kaoru looked down at the picture in his hand. "There's something here. Something that's neither good nor evil, light or dark. It just is. But the Brotherhood machinations we've encountered have all been about keeping their own hands clean. Getting other people to do their dirty work. Each time we've encountered them, they're always giving people the tools to perpetuate darkness, but get nothing in return. Nothing we've been able to see."

Kai let out a rough noise. "Hiromu said he'd collected something from Halloween Town. Said, with what he'd collected, the Brotherhood could create an unbeatable army. Not even Sora would be able to stop them."

"But why create an army to fight a handful of Keyblade users?" asked the blonde woman from behind Rufus. Her black-haired partner looked at her sharply. Even Rufus twisted to look at her. She flushed slightly, as if she were embarrassed. "Well, it doesn't make any sense." she continued.

"What do you mean, Elena?" Rufus asked, his tone gentle yet demanding.

"Well," Elena stopped to organize her thoughts, "well, it's like sending the WRO to wrangle a flock of chocobos. You'll have an entire group of people chasing birds who are faster and stronger, and who don't exactly like to cooperate."

"Keyblade wielders aren't exactly chocobos." Tifa pointed out.

Elena shook her head. "No, they're not. But think about it. There's only a handful of people who can wield the Keyblade, and they're usually scattered across the worlds. You can't just snap your fingers and herd them together into one place and not expect a certain amount of resistance if not outright defiance."

"Maybe the army is the red herring." suggested Tifa. "Put the army at the doorstep of someone Sora cares about the most, and he'll have to show up to put a stop to everything. The Keyblade wielders might be stronger than any of us, but they're still human. They tire. They get hungry and thirsty. Cut those things off with interminable fighting, and they'll get weak enough to overpower."

Kaoru stared down at the picture in his hand, half-listening to what Tifa, Rufus, and Elena were saying. Most of it made sense - creating an unbeatable army to combat a seemingly unbeatable Keyblade wielder would not only leave an opening for the Brotherhood to strike at who and where they pleased - but other bits of information didn't jive well. Kaoru thought back to his first encounter with Ennio on Belle's world, how he had wanted to use the Beast as an experiment, but instead had used Gaston. Gaston had been mostly darkness with only a touch of light. And then again in Jamestown, when John had taken over by the darkness inside him, it had taken both Kaoru and Thomas to bring John out of the mindless rage the darkness had placed him in. But John hadn't been steeped in darkness like Gaston had. He'd actually been a champion of the Light, if Kaoru could interpret Pocahontas's and Thomas's stories correctly.

That was just what Kaoru himself had encountered. There was no telling what else the Brotherhood had done _before_ Kaoru had gotten involved, and there was no telling what they were doing on other worlds that Kaoru _hadn't_ gone to.

The other thing that didn't make sense when taken in context with everything that was being said here was Hiromu. Hiromu had said the Brotherhood needed a Keyblade user and a Princess of Heart, both of which they had, but only one of which was useful to them. Why would they need a Keyblade user and a Princess of Heart if they were trying to make an army that not even Sora, a Keyblade Master, would be able to defeat? Why would the Brotherhood waste time and resources experimenting with those black rods when they knew they could already control the Heartless?

He felt quite convinced that he couldn't put to voice those questions here, in front of Tifa and Rufus and Elena, not because they wouldn't be able to think of an answer, but because it involved the Keyblades, the Princesses, Light, and Darkness in an intricate tangle of threads that only someone who was intimately familiar with those four subjects _and_ the Brotherhood would be able to answer.

He stared down at the photograph of Midgar and felt utterly convinced that, one way or another, the answers to those questions would be found there, in the ruins of that city.

"Kaoru?"

He looked up at Tifa, who was watching him with a concerned gaze. She glanced toward Rufus, who was also staring at Kaoru, though his expression was completely unreadable. Kaoru set the photograph on the table and gently pushed it toward Rufus.

"Will you take us there, please?" Kaoru asked, keeping his voice even. "If the Brotherhood is there, then it can't be for anything good. We need to get there, and we don't have any time left to waste."

Rufus's expression didn't change. He flicked his eyes from Kaoru to Kai to Rin to Tifa and back to Kaoru again. "Very well. Tifa?"

The brunette woman scowled. "You made a deal with him, Rufus. Don't ask me for permission."

Nodding, Rufus looked back at Kaoru. "Midgar's quite a distance away. I hope none of you get airsick."


	42. Chapter 42

Forty-One - Edge/Midgar

The helicopter landed outside the ruins of Midgar with a gentle jolt. Kaoru had spent the flight staring out the window at the city of Edge, then the empty landscape between Edge and Midgar, then at the approaching ruins of Midgar itself. He'd sat between Kai and Rinally, each of whom had also been watching the scenery, though Kaoru was certain Kai kept flicking glances to the four Turks that had accompanied them. Elena they already knew, since Rufus had named her while they were in the Seventh Heaven. The black haired man sitting beside her was the leader of their quartet, Tseng. He had introduced himself and given a name for their group, along with citing their their purpose was to protect Rufus, the city of Edge, and basically be whatever Rufus needed them to be. Tifa had mentioned the Turks were mercenaries, assassins, and general pains in her ass, but they were good and capable people.

The one piloting the helicopter was the redhead, Reno, and his co-pilot was the bald man, Rude. Tifa had said Reno was a bit of a jokester, so watch out for him, and that Rude never spoke, so don't take any offense to that. Reno had filled the helicopter with inane chatter until Tseng had glowered him into silence.

Tseng was out of the helicopter first, followed by Elena, then Kai, Kaoru, and Rinally. The three teenagers stared at the ruins of the city, watching the shadows shift and change as clouds drifted through the sky, cutting off light and giving it back as they moved on their way.

Kaoru could feel it even more acutely now, just standing this close. Something was in there. Something was subtlety calling him, trying to lead him to a certain place deep within that shadowy darkness. Kaoru glanced at Kai, then turned to look at Tseng. "Are you coming with us?" he asked.

Tseng shook his head. "You three do what you need to do. We're here to provide back-up if you need it, and to provide you a way back to Edge when you're done here."

Kaoru heard the warning in Tseng's words. The three of them had promised Tifa that they would return to the Seventh Heaven before leaving Edge, if they found anything they needed to chase down. They wouldn't just take a Path without giving Tifa something she and her friends could work with to keep their own world safe. If they left without saying good-bye, Tifa probably would beat the crap out of them when, and if, they returned. And that would probably be after Sora got finished lecturing them for running off without a word, if he arrived here and Tifa told him what had happened before Kaoru could recount his tale and reasoning behind his actions.

Kaoru nodded and started down the side of the hill with Kai right behind him. Rinally remained behind for a second longer, speaking with Elena, then hurried to catch up to her friends. They headed into the ruins of Midgar, watching everything but seeing nothing. Kaoru turned his attention to Rinally and saw her sliding the strap of a small satchel over her shoulder.

"Elena gave it to me," Rin said with a smile. "It's healing and mana potions. Just in case we need them."

"That was nice of her." Kaoru replied.

"Was there a price for that help?" Kai asked. "They work for Rufus, after all. He likes to style himself like a politician, but he's really just a mob boss."

Rinally shook her head. "Elena might work for Rufus, but Tseng's her boss, and I bet you anything that if he didn't want her helping us, she wouldn't have given me this. There's a really, really weird relationship going on with them and Rufus that I can't figure out, except that I'm sure they don't jump when Rufus snaps his fingers, but they'll die protecting him."

"That's a terrible relationship." Kaoru said.

Rin shrugged. "That's just the feeling I get."

They hit the flat open ground between the landing zone and the first of the ruins and headed into the shadows. Kai paused, his face becoming confused for a brief moment. Kaoru looked at him in askance.

"I felt..." Kai shrugged. "I felt something. The moment we crossed into this place."

"Does it feel like something's calling you?" Kaoru asked.

Kai shook his head. "No... more like... it's just there. I can feel it, like I can feel you. You're constantly there against my mind, you know? It's not malicious, but it doesn't quite feel benevolent either."

"You think this thing you two are feeling is what the Brotherhood is after?" Rinally asked.

Kaoru shrugged. "I don't know. Probably." He started forward again, and his friends followed quickly after him.

They walked through the ruins of the city of Midgar, staring at the giant broken blocks of buildings and streets. Kaoru wondered what had happened to cause such destruction, and why Tifa and the others had looked so sad when mention of the city came up in their conversation. Something bad had happened here, that much Kaoru could feel for himself. It felt like there were a lot of ghosts in these ruins, a lot of regrets and sorrows that seemed to be adhered to the stone and broken glass rising in mountains above his head. But underlying all that sadness seemed to be a bit of happiness too. Hope. Kaoru paused to let his fingers trail across a sheared piece of stone that looked like it had been cleanly cut by something very sharp, wondering what could exist to cause such damage.

"It looks like a bomb went off here." Rinally said quietly. She tilted her head back and looked at the crumbling ruins above her head. "This is some kind of amazing terrible."

"The way Tifa and Rufus talked about it," Kai said, "you'd think this was a sacred place. But really it's just a reminder, isn't it?"

Kaoru looked at him curiously. "A reminder?"

Kai nodded. He swept an arm up and around, as if to indicate everything around them. "This whole place is Tifa's past. This place has a lot of memories for her, and probably everyone she knows. It's a reminder to her. A reminder of what could happen if she's not willing to fight as hard as she can."

Kaoru looked around at the ruins, listening to what Kai said. A reminder. A reminder of what could happen if one wasn't willing to fight as hard as he could.

Kaoru knew he wouldn't hesitate to fight Hiromu if he had to, but he also knew he wouldn't be able to hurt his friend. But here, this entire place, was what could happen if he couldn't put aside all his fears and just fight. Because he wasn't fighting just for his own sake. He was fighting for Kai and Rin. He was fighting for the balance between Light and Darkness. He was fighting for every heart he had touched since starting his journey. For Sora and Riku. He was even fighting for Hiromu and Tae.

He looked at the destruction and saw what would happen if he stopped fighting. If he gave up hope.

Kaoru jumped slightly and looked at Kai. The redhead was squeezing Kaoru's shoulder, giving him a knowing look. "I'm fine." Kaoru said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"God, why don't you two get a room?" Rinally said, giving both of them a big grin. She folded her hands behind her head and leaned her weight back on one foot. "It's so cute, watching you be all worried about Kaoru, Kai. Just kiss him and get it over with."

"Shut up." Kai growled. It only caused Rinally to grin wider.

"Okay, enough." Kaoru said, reaching out to restrain Kai and to get Rinally to stop antagonizing the redhead. "This isn't the place for that. We have to explore this place and see if we can find any sign of the Brotherhood, or whatever it is Kai and I are sensing."

"Then let's get moving." Rin said. She gave Kai a long, searching look. "Unless you really _are_ going to kiss him."

"Shut up!" Kai snarled. It took all of Kaoru's strength to hold him back. Rinally only laughed and started down the path they had been following. Kaoru stared at Kai until the redhead leashed his temper, then hurried to catch up to Rinally.

She too gave Kaoru a knowing look, and he pointedly returned it with a narrow-eyed stare. "I'm fine." he told her.

"I know you are." Rinally replied. She smiled at him. "I know it's really been rough on you lately, and I'm honestly surprised you didn't break down long before when you did. Your hope was stolen from you, but you got it back. And now I don't think anything will make you lose it again."

"Well, that's not exactly true."

She looked at him immediately, her eyes filled with concern. "What do you mean?"

"I always hope that maybe you'll forget your voyeuristic tendencies when it comes to me and Kai, but then you say something and piss him off and that hope is crushed." Kaoru grinned at her.

Rinally stared at him with wide eyes for a long while, and then a laugh bubbled up out of her throat, filling the area with the clear sound of mirth. Behind them, Kai narrowed his eyes and scowled at her, certain that she was laughing about something that involved him, but unsure if he could apply a justifiable amount of violence to get her to shut up. Kaoru looked back at him and smiled. Kai scowled deeper, but he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked along behind them.

They encountered very little in the way of enemies while they traversed the ruins of Midgar. Tifa had said her world had never been afflicted by the Heartless, despite it being Connected, and it was definitely showing here. That wasn't to say they didn't encounter the random twisted monster or the like, but there were no signs of Heartless at all. Kai couldn't even sense them.

"But there's definitely a significant darkness here," he said. "It's been getting stronger the closer to the heart of these ruins we get. I can't even feel that... whatever... I've been feeling since we got here."

Rinally turned to Kaoru. "What about you? You felt it just by looking at a picture of this place."

Kaoru tilted his head. "To be honest, I haven't thought about it for a while. I can't say I've _stopped_ feeling it, but it's definitely harder to get a grasp on." He closed his eyes and tried to quiet his mind. It took him a moment to find that calling feeling, but find it he did. Only he was far from where it was originating from, and it seemed like the "call" was becoming slightly more insistent. He opened his eyes and looked at his friends. "We're really far from where it is."

"Should we angle back that way?" Rin asked. "We haven't found anything so far this way, or in any way we've gone so far."

"If the Brotherhood is after anything, it has to be where you're feeling that call from." Kai surmised. "But if they're there, then we shouldn't go in guns blazing. We ought to keep quiet, see if we can scout anything out before we engage."

"I don't sense any danger," Kaoru said, "but there's no reason for us to be stupid about it. The Brotherhood knows we're on to them, and they know we end up where they are. After our encounter with Hiromu, they won't take any chances."

Kai nodded. "Lead the way, then."

Kaoru nodded and started down a side alley that took them back to a main thoroughfare. They stepped out from the alley into the light of the sun and Kaoru paused, looking down the right hand side of the thoroughfare. Kai stopped beside him, looking down the left hand side. Rin stood behind them, her staff in her hand, ready for whatever was going to happen.

"You sense it too, huh?" Kai asked.

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah. Something's coming."

Their Keyblades were in their hands immediately. They took four quick steps away from each other, leaving Rin to fill the gap in between them. Kaoru felt it a moment after positioning himself, the subtle shaking of the earth beneath his feet. It started to increase in frequency, until it felt like the earth itself was about to rip apart in a vicious explosion. Kaoru gripped Guardian with both hands and settled into his stance, eyes focused on the open space ahead of him. He took a deep breath, and when they came, he was ready.

They weren't Heartless. Whatever they were, he was certain they weren't Heartless. They looked similar to the monsters they'd encountered while they had been wandering the ruins of Midgar, but they were twisted and misshaped in terrible ways. The monsters in the lead had long, gangly arms and legs, with blades protruding from the elbows where forearms should have been. They were running faster than the others, propelling themselves forward with those blades. Those behind them had bodies were stretched and stained with roiling coils of darkness. Sharp teeth filled mouths that opened too wide. Kaoru noticed that the monsters didn't have any eyes. _None_ of them had eyes. And yet, they were racing ahead toward the three teenagers as if they knew exactly where they were standing.

Kaoru didn't think; he pushed off with his left foot and met the charge with one of his own. He faintly heard Rinally calling his name, but he ignored her, swinging Guardian with all the force he could muster into the first of the leading monsters. Guardian connected with something solid with bone-breaking force, and the monster let out a shrill shriek as it crashed onto its back. Kaoru ducked beneath the swipe of another monster and spun to plant Guardian into its chest, sending it flying backwards as well. He danced into the midst of the charge then, his Keyblade flashing, connecting with the monsters with bursts of light. The entire thoroughfare filled with noise, the monsters shrieking and howling as they bore down on Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally and were beaten back by Keyblades and magic.

Kaoru caught glimpses of Kai as he spun around dodging attacks. The redhead was dealing with his own wave of enemies, moving as much as Kaoru was to keep the center of the thoroughfare clear so as to keep Rinally safe. She was alternating between offensive spells and healing magic, doing her best to keep both her friends whole and healthy and on the move. She wasn't without her own defenses either, as she utilized her staff as a bludgeon if a monster got past Kai or Kaoru and raced at her.

 _It was a pincer attack,_ Kaoru thought briefly as he dodged a slice that would have opened him from throat to groin. Guardian struck the monster's eyeless head in retaliation, snapping the monster's neck backwards and leaving it flopping on the ground. He threw Guardian toward another monster as it leaped; the weapon caught the monster at the apex of its jump and slammed it back into a small group of its companions, sending them all sprawling. Guardian came back to Kaoru's hand and he threw the blade behind him to stop a monster's blade-arm from ripping into his back. _They were waiting for us. This is a clear shot straight to where that feeling is originating. But what the hell_ are _these things?_

The answer didn't come and Kaoru didn't spend time dwelling on it. He continued to fight, knowing that if he stuttered in his momentum, the monsters would overwhelm him and reach Rin and Kai.

He threw Guardian above his head and Cascade rained down, the area of effect attack striking everywhere at once. The Keyblade came back to his hand and Kaoru rushed through the monsters as they reeled from the prismatic rain of Cascade. He skidded to a halt once he was clear of the main body of the monsters and spun on his heel, coming back in low. He swung Guardian at the thin ankles of the last monster and felt the impact all the way in his shoulders. The monster squealed and flipped in a clockwise motion before hitting the ground. Kaoru saw it then and quickly spun Guardian in his hand so he could slam the point of it into the monster's lower stomach.

The tip of Guardian crashed against the protruding black rod and a thunderclap deafened Kaoru's ears. The monster writhed beneath Guardian, thrashing wildly. Kaoru felt one of the tendrils of darkness slap against his armor, wincing as a blinding spark ignited between the silver armor and the tendril. The monster shrieked again, its teeth-filled maw opening with sound that Kaoru couldn't hear. Kaoru put all his weight on his Keyblade, and the black rod finally pushed through the monster's body, leaving it completely. As Guardian followed through, the monster arched and writhed on the Keyblade, before exploding into tiny motes of light-filled darkness.

Kaoru stared at the black rod lying on the ground before him, certain it wasn't like any of the others he had seen before. He didn't think about it too much; he grabbed the rod with his armored hand and shoved it into his back pocket. Then he hurried toward Rinally, who had a Barrier spell in place around her to keep the monsters from overwhelming Kai from behind.

As Kaoru ran to join his friends, he watched as Kai threw Sanctuary sideways into a trio of the darkness-infested monsters, knocking their feet out from under them. The redhead became a blur then as he went into his Nightmare Raid attack, striking with unbelievably fast blows. Kaoru saw those monsters burst into the same kind of motes his enemy had, and he knew then that Kai had seen the rods as well and was doing his best to destroy them. Kaoru fought through the crowd of monsters harrowing Rinally, destroying rods as he could find them. He reached Rinally and she dropped her Barrier long enough for him to get close enough to her. She uttered her spell once again, and the shimmering veil of solid power slammed back in place around the two of them. Kai joined them a minute later, destroying as many of their enemies as he could to reach them.

"The Brotherhood's puppets." Kai growled, shaking Sanctuary to get little bits of clinging darkness off the weapon. "They all have those black rods inside them."

"There's still too many. We can't kill them all, and there's nowhere we can run." Rinally said, sweat beading on her forehead from her exertion. Kaoru saw her hand hover over the satchel Elena had given her, as if she was about to fish out a mana potion, but at the last second, she snatched it away and clutched at her staff again. "Do you guys have any more tricks up your sleeves?"

Kai sighed but shook his head. "I can go Black Knight, but I don't know if that will help here."

"It wouldn't hurt." Rin replied. She winced as her Barrier was battered by blades and claws. "I don't know how much longer I can hold this."

"Be careful Kai." Kaoru said.

Kai made a noise low in his throat. "When Rin drops the shield, just run. Pick a direction and run. I'll catch up."

They both knew better than to argue with Kai. Kaoru trusted that Kai would do exactly as he said, knowing there would be nothing short of death that would keep the redhead from coming after him. Kaoru reached out to brush his fingers against Kai's arm, got a smirk in return, and then Kai took two steps forward, bringing Sanctuary up and holding it out, parallel to the ground.

Darkness swirled around his feet in alternating waves, changing colors from black to dark violet to royal blue. The darkness progressed higher and higher until Kaoru could no longer see Kai, except for Sanctuary. Then Rinally grabbed Kaoru's wrist and at the same time she dropped the shield, Kai exploded out of the darkness in his Black Knight armor. Kaoru and Rin bolted down the right side of the thoroughfare as Kai flickered through the collapsing horde of monsters, striking lightning fast as the black rods protruding from their bodies. He was buying them time to run by taking out as many of their enemies as he could.

Kaoru could feel Kai's presence shrinking away from him as he and Rin ran. They ducked down a side alley and continued to run, breaking out into another main street. This one was chock full of rubble, collapsed buildings and broken glass. Kaoru and Rinally paused to catch their breath, standing back to back so nothing could sneak up on them.

"Which way?" Rinally asked.

Kaoru pointed straight ahead, where a half-destroyed building blocked any path they might could take. "But there's more coming. I can sense them."

Rinally said something pithy. "How did they get all those rods into these things? What _are_ they anyway?"

"Besides the Brotherhood's puppets?"

"Yeah!"

"I don't know." Kaoru reached for his back pocket and pulled out the rod. He stared at it for a second, then looked at Rin. "This is probably a bad time, but do you still have those rods from Gaston's place?"

Rin looked at him incredulously, but she dug through her backpack until she found the bundle of cloth she'd wrapped the black rods in. She worked the knots free and opened the bundle to reveal the solid black cylinders. Kaoru placed the one he'd picked up beside them, staring at the differences. The ones they'd taken from Gaston were pure black, whereas the one he'd just picked up was shifting colors from obsidian to a sickly purple and bruised blue. He looked up at Rin and gave her an apologetic smile.

"What?" Rin asked. "What are you doing? Kaoru?" She gasped as he grabbed the entire bundle from her hand, then gave her a hard push backwards where she fell onto her rear. "Kaoru!"

"I'm sorry, Rin. Just stay here, okay? Wait for Kai!" He didn't bother to wait for her response. With the bundle held tight in his armored hand and Guardian in the other, Kaoru took off running. He could hear her calling his name and knew she was giving chase, but he just kept running, taking sharp turns as much as he could.

He never got lost, always able to keep his bearings by the strange calling feeling he'd felt since seeing the picture and since arriving. But getting lost hadn't been his intention. Drawing the monsters away from Kai and Rin was that, as well as getting the attention of the Brotherhood member that was here in Midgar. Judging by the reactions of the monsters that he'd encountered while running, he'd certainly gotten that.

He ducked under a surprise attack and drove Guardian into the monster's stomach where a rod protruded. He danced through another set of attacks, retaliating with strikes of his own. He at last broke free of the debris of the city and entered a place that looked more traveled, more cared for. A church stood in the cleared area, dilapidated and falling apart, but still proudly upright. The calling feeling was intense here. He was in the right place.

"I know what you're doing!" Kaoru called out, letting his voice carry. "I know why you need a Keyblade user and a Princess of Heart! I know why you're using these!" He thrust the bundle of rods into the air to emphasize his point. "You need them. You need them to control the false bodies you're making out of a combination of congealed Darkness and Light. You're _making_ false Heartless from Darkness and Light, and you need a Princess to put Hearts into them! And you need these rods to control those Hearts!"

The doors to the church creaked open and out of them stepped a man and a woman in the black coats of the Organization. The black coats of the Brotherhood. The man was broad-shouldered and thickly muscled, and he carried a massive claymore that flickered with electricity. His eyes were solid black, including the whites, and his hair was slicked back away from his face to form a charcoal-colored tail. The woman was much smaller by comparison, slim but not thin. She had dark skin and white hair that formed a cloud around her face. A black sash wound around her eyes, but Kaoru could see glimmers of bright green through the gauze fabric. She carried a morning star in one hand, with the other on her hip.

"Aren't you a clever Keyblade brat." said the woman, her words slightly accented. "Figured that out all on your own, did you?"

Kaoru lowered his hand and stuffed the bundle into his front pocket this time, as deep as he could shove it. He took hold of Guardian with both hands and settled into a reactive stance. "It confused me for a long time, why you would go so far to try and control Light-oriented people when you've already figured out how to control Darkness. Then Hiromu told me you needed a Keyblade user and a Princess of Heart. He said you were making an army that not even Sora could beat. None of it made sense. Not until I saw those monsters."

The man chuckled darkly. "He _is_ smart. Smarter than Hiromu."

"I told you we should've approached him then." retorted the woman.

Kaoru stared, confused. Then he remembered, when he first arrived in Traverse Town, how he'd constantly felt like someone was watching him. "You were watching me in Traverse Town." he said.

The woman chuckled. "Of course we were. We've been watching you for a long time, Kaoru. Ever since you met Sora ten years ago."

"What?"

"Are we really going to exposition now, Haiku?" the man said with a complaining note to his voice. "We have more important things to do."

The woman, Haiku, looked at her companion with a tight smile. "Ennio told us not to underestimate this boy or his friends."

"I don't see his friends here."

"They'll be along." Haiku looked back toward Kaoru. "We have to take care of this problem first. He knows too much. It's a shame, since he could still be useful to us, but I have a feeling that he's more trouble than he's worth."

"If he's still useful, why kill him?"

"Because I feel like it."

Pushing his confusion to the back of his mind and forcing it down to where he could ignore it, Kaoru readied himself. There would be time to get his questions answered later, once he beat Haiku and her companion into the dirt. And he _would_ do that, because he knew he had to get through them to save Hiromu and Tae, and because he had to stop them from destroying whatever was in that church.


	43. Chapter 43

Forty-Two - Edge/Midgar

"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to _kill_ him. When I catch up to him, I'm going to wring his scrawny little neck!" Rinally shouted to the empty street, shaking her staff as though there was something - or some _one_ \- she could bludgeon with it. She couldn't believe, after all they had gone through, Kaoru had just left her behind like that! It was like he'd had some epiphany and decided to be the lone wolf to take care of it. What was she? Chopped liver?

She paused at a street corner and looked down the alley. There was nothing there except shadows and rubble. From somewhere in the distance, she heard an explosion, but she wasn't sure if it was Kai or Kaoru. It didn't matter, really. She wasn't with either of them, so she was slightly better than useless. Was it because she didn't have a Keyblade? She knew Kaoru and Kai had a thing going with each other, which gave her endless pleasure, but she didn't know how much of that thing came from them both being Keyblade users and the champions of Light and Dark and how much of it came from real feelings for each other. She also knew the two of them were far stronger than she was simply for the fact they relied upon their own physical strength rather than magical. That wasn't to say they didn't have mana, considering all their special moves, but they didn't seem to rely as heavily upon it as she did.

She leaned against the brick wall and stared at the pale sky above her head. She felt a little jealous of Kai and Kaoru, if she had to admit it. They always seemed to know just what the other needed when they needed it, which was something she couldn't figure out. As much as she had tried to comfort Kaoru after his encounter with Hiromu, she'd known that she hadn't had as much of an effect as Kai had. Whatever Kai had said to him had changed Kaoru. And Kai had changed too, because of Kaoru. She'd had no influence on them whatsoever. She was also certain that if she just disappeared, those two would be able to continue on without a care. They would keep moving forward, without a thought tossed her way.

Rinally hugged her staff to her chest and bit her lip, trying not to start crying.

A thunderous explosion nearly knocked her to the ground and a cloud of dust washed over her, obscuring her view of everything around her. She was on her feet in an instant, swinging her staff up and around her to cast an Aero spell to get the dust cloud away from her. She leaped out of the way of a charge, tucking her head close to her chest to roll. She came back to her feet, spun, and snapped out a Firaga spell. The fireball struck the darkness-shrouded beast in the face and flung it back into the slowly-dissipating cloud of dust. She saw something flash left and right and the monster exploded into motes of glowing darkness.

Kai, still in his Black Knight armor, stepped out of the dust cloud and narrowed his eyes at her, as if he couldn't figure out why she was alone. Sanctuary was held in his usual reverse grip, but with a flick of the wrist, Kai dismissed his Keyblade and his armor burst off him in dark motes. He strode over to her, his eyes traveling from hers to her feet and back up again.

"What?" Rin asked defensively.

"Are you hurt?"

The question shocked her for a minute. She wordlessly shook her head. "Why do you care?"

Now Kai looked shocked. He blinked and canted his head to one side. "Because you're my friend, idiot. As much as you frustrate me, as much as you irritate me, I still care about you."

"Because if you don't, you'll make Kaoru upset?"

A red eyebrow rose. "The hell is wrong with you, Rin?"

She pressed her lips together in a thin line. "Is it because I'm not as strong as you two? Is it because I can't keep up with you? Are you protecting me for my sake or for Kaoru's?"

Kai stared at her with an incredulous look, then folded his arms over his chest and glowered at her. "Where is this coming from?"

"Because you keep telling me to run all the time and then Kaoru goes and leaves me behind and you two seem to have this silent communication going and I _know_ you like him and he likes you and if you're so in synch with one another, why do you need me?!"

The words came out in a rush before she could stop them. Kai kept his narrow-eyed glower focused on her, which made her tense. Then he blew out a long sigh. "Yeah, I keep telling you to run all the time. Because if you're standing right there, I can't go all-out without catching you in my attacks. If you're not there, I don't have to worry about checking my strength. As far as Kaoru leaving you behind, there's gotta be a good reason for it. He's not the kind of person who just up and leaves you because he feels like it. And as far as the two of us, yeah. We can sense each other. We like each other, as you said. And I kissed him, so what?"

"You kissed him?" Rin asked in a tiny voice.

Kai shrugged. "So what? Rin, there's a lot of shit you can do that we can't. Kaoru and me, we have brute strength and the powers of Light and Dark, but that's all we have going for us. If we're not down there in the thick of things, we can't do shit. But you? You can stand at range and see what we can't. You watch our backs. You heal us so that we can keep fighting. If it weren't for you, we'd be dead."

"You kissed Kaoru."

"Oh, come off it!" Kai snapped. He marched closer to her and jabbed a finger into her shoulder. "The point is, you're the one who's the strongest one here. It's your strength that can keep us fighting. If you disappeared, it would break Kaoru's heart."

Rin pushed Kai away from her. "What about you? Would you be upset?"

Kai blew out a sigh and nodded.

She smiled. "So you're not just saying shit to make me feel better?"

"When the hell have I ever done that?"

Rinally shrugged but silently agreed. Kai didn't say things that he didn't mean. Then she looked at him and said, "I'm still going to kill Kaoru when I catch up to him."

"I was wondering why he wasn't here." Kai said, a tinge of a growl in his voice. "What did he do before he ran?"

Rinally recounted the story to Kai, though she was at a loss for its significance. "He just took the rods from me and took off. After he shoved me down. And told me to wait for you."

Kai frowned deeply. "He didn't want you following him until I got to you?"

"Well, I guess."

"He wanted a head start for a reason, then. Something that has to do with those black rods." Kai met Rinally's gaze with a wide-eyed one of his own. "Kaoru figured something out. He went ahead to make sure that the two of us could have the element of surprise while he had their attention."

"Whose attention?"

Sanctuary was back in Kai's hand and he offered his free one to her. "That's what we're going to find out."

When Rinally took Kai's hand, she felt a burst of confidence swell inside her. He held tight to her, determined not to lose her. She knew then that, no matter what, Kai and Kaoru would look for her if she disappeared. They would fight to the ends of the earth to find her. She might be in their shadows, but she was far from being overshadowed by them.

They ran through the ruins, slowed only by the constant attacks from the monsters. Kai was a blur of motion, Sanctuary crashing into the monsters' bodies to send them flying away. Rinally unleashed several Thundara spells to both stun the monsters and help destroy them. She aimed her single-target spells toward the black rods protruding from their bodies and even if she didn't destroy them, Kai did.

Then, as they ran down a side alley, a rumbling started under their feet that indicated nothing good. Rinally watched in horror as a building in front of them began to collapse. If it fell fully before they could get to the other side of the alley, they would be trapped. They would have to find another way around, which wouldn't help Kaoru at all. Kai skidded to a halt, pulling Rinally to a stop alongside him. Immediately, he switched direction, running back the way they had come. Rin was about to argue, until she saw a group of monsters racing toward them from the direction they had wanted to go. They were moving rapidly, using their blade-like arms to propel them along. Debris rained down upon them, but they ignored it, closing in on their prey as fast as they could.

The building crashed down with unyielding force, with a terrifying explosion of sound. Both Kai and Rinally were flung off their feet and they tumbled head over heels before coming to a hard landing on their sides. Rinally pushed herself up and reached for her staff, trying not to listen to the scrabbling of metal against stone that was quickly getting louder. Kai was already rolling to his feet, Sanctuary brought to bear against the coming attack. Rin was a little slower in getting up, but she didn't need to be fully upright to fight. She flung her staff behind her and unleashed a Blizzara spell blindly, feeling an incredible drop in temperature behind her. Kai grabbed her by the shoulder and hauled her up, pushing her behind him. She turned around to see the monsters that hadn't been caught in her spell bearing down on them. Even if they ran, they wouldn't get away in time.

Kai bared his teeth in a feral snarl and readied Sanctuary for a vicious assault.

He never got the chance to unleash it.

Thunder clapped from above them in quick succession. The monsters in mid-leap were violently thrown backwards in a spray of darkness. When they landed, they twitched, but didn't get back up. Thunder rolled again twice, then twice more. The source of the thunder revealed itself a second later in the form of a black-haired man in a tattered red cloak. He landed almost noiselessly, bringing to bear a massive three-barreled handgun that barked fire. Rinally watched as three separate bullets impacted the closest monster, driving it back and putting it down. The man wordlessly changed targets with the art of a master marksman, his gun snapping and spitting fire each time. When one monster managed to avoid being shot and closed with the man, a sharp-fingered golden gauntlet caught the monster in the throat and threw it back. Bullets chased it, putting an end to any bright ideas it might have.

Then the area got quiet.

"Who are you?" Kai asked, holding Sanctuary in a defensive position.

The man turned to face them. Crimson eyes studied them from beneath a red cloth bandana. Long dark hair framed a pale but beautiful face which held no emotions whatsoever. He watched both of them for a moment, then holstered his weapon on his thigh. "Vincent Valentine."

He had a deep voice that was deceptively quiet. Rinally reached to put her hand on Kai's shoulder to keep him from doing something stupid and asked, "Are you friends with Tifa?"

Vincent's crimson eyes flicked to Rin and he gave the barest of nods.

"Did she ask you to keep an eye on us?"

Vincent shook his head.

"I'm Rinally, and this is Kai. We're trying to find our other friend, Kaoru. He ran on ahead, and we think he's in danger."

There was a flicker of emotion in Vincent's eyes then and he nodded. "Tifa told me something of what's going on. She said you three had been staying with her."

"Yeah, something like that." Kai replied. "But if you didn't come here to babysit us, why are you here?"

Without replying, Vincent stepped between them and started down the alley. Looking at each other, Kai and Rinally hurried to catch up. Vincent led them through another side street, then into a broken building and up the stairs there until they emerged into the open air. They had a good view of the destruction here, but also a clear view of an area to the north of them that seemed out of place compared to the rest of Midgar. Vincent lifted a golden finger and pointed.

Kai and Rinally couldn't see anything except a tattered church building and dust clouds.

"There have been people skulking about here," Vincent explained, "people in black coats. They've been bringing creatures to that church and releasing them out into the ruins."

"The monsters." Rinally said. She looked at Kai. "It's the Brotherhood."

Kai scowled. "That must be what Kaoru figured out. The Brotherhood's been making these monsters and controlling them with the rods."

"But why?" Rinally asked. "Why would they do such a thing?"

"Well, why don't we go ask them?"

Vincent looked at both of them with a confused expression. It didn't take long for Rinally to explain the Brotherhood and their intentions, and when she finished, Vincent wore a dark look that said he'd brushed too closely with similar antics before.

"What's so special about the church, though?" Kai wondered.

Vincent smiled from beneath his cowl, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It's not the building, but what's inside it."

"What's inside it?"

"A pool."

"...A pool."

Vincent lifted his shoulders slightly. "You'll have to see for yourself."

Kai inhaled sharply and let it out in a sigh that wasn't quite a growl. He focused on that church ahead of them, feeling a sense of disquiet he didn't like at all. But beneath that disquiet, Kai could feel that same calling feeling he'd felt since arriving here. It was strong in that direction, pulling on his senses with a subtle siren's call. Kaoru was also there. He knew that without a doubt.

"Kaoru's there." Kai said, looking at Rin. "If Kaoru's there, the Brotherhood is there."

"Then that's where we should be." Rinally said. She looked at Vincent. "Can you get us there?"

Vincent's dark head cocked to one side. He seemed to be listening to something the two teenagers couldn't hear, and Rin thought she caught a glimpse of an earpiece. Ahead, something exploded, sending up a cloud of dust. Kai's world filtered from color to monochrome, and in that dust cloud he could see a bright, bright light and two other lights, though more muted. He clenched Sanctuary's hilt hard enough for his knuckles to turn white.

Then Vincent said, "This way."

Kai spun on his heel and closely followed that red cloak, fighting to keep calm. Now wasn't the time to lose control.

Kaoru was there, fighting on his own, but not for much longer.


	44. Chapter 44

Forty-Three - Edge/Midgar

Kaoru ducked under the claymore's blade and struck for the man's knees with Guardian. For a big man, he was surprisingly nimble, and he leaped clear of Kaoru's strike before it could even connect. Haiku came on then, her morning star whistling as the spiked ball came in for Kaoru's head. He jerked back and brought Guardian up to deflect the blow as best he could. He felt the impact all the way up to his shoulders and retreated, trying to put some space between himself and his enemies.

Haiku and her companion definitely weren't slouches when it came to fighting. Kaoru knew he could keep up against one of them, but against both of them he was working hard just to be able to respond offensively while keeping himself alive defensively. Whenever that claymore came in for his head or body, Kaoru knew that morning star was coming for his back. It was a complex dance that he was fighting to keep the rhythm of, striking when he could and trying to stay one step ahead of his two enemies. They hadn't yet hit him, but it wouldn't be long before one or both of them did. Kaoru didn't have the reach that Haiku and her friend did, which meant he had to get in close to be able to do damage, but that also put him closer to being killed. These two weren't like Ennio, who used others to do his dirty work. These two fought their own battles and they weren't slouches, either. It was clear to Kaoru that he was outclassed. The battles he'd been in before had given him some good experience, but he'd won either on sheer luck or because he hadn't been alone.

But now he was alone. Now he had no luck left to spare because he was using it all just trying to stay alive.

He checked his speed to avoid being brained by the morning star's spiked ball and whirled around to bring Guardian up to stop the claymore from cutting him in half. The man leered down at him with a manic grin, his black eyes glinting with glee. He bore down on Kaoru with all his weight, making sparks appear between the Keyblade and the claymore.

"Not bad, kid!" the man crowed. "I wonder how long you can keep it up!"

Kaoru didn't bother to answer. He shifted his weight and allowed Guardian to slide down the claymore's blade so he could shove himself away. He was too small to overpower the man, so he tried to use the man's own strength against him. He broke away and went for the man's knees again, switching his target when the man responded with a sideways block to stop Guardian from smashing into the fragile bone. Instead, Guardian hit the man's left forearm, earning a sharp howl from the man and a flinching retreat. Kaoru didn't follow through; he retreated, ducking under Haiku's attack and twisting away before she could swing that morning star at his back again.

Kaoru's observations had allowed him to learn that the man favored his left side to lead with his attacks. It was his dominant side. Kaoru had been striking for the man's legs on purpose, knowing that if he kept aiming for that spot, his intentions would become predictable. If his opponent believed he was constantly striking for one area, then he would respond to protect that area, which would allow Kaoru to attack somewhere else. So he'd feinted, and when he'd gotten the opportunity, he took his shot.

"He broke my damn arm!" howled the man. He'd stabbed the claymore into the ground and was clutching his arm, which hung now at an awkward angle. Haiku was standing beside him, her lips turned down in a severe frown.

"I told you not to underestimate him." Haiku replied, no sympathy in her voice at all. She hefted her morning star and set it against her shoulder. "Can you still fight?"

The man grasped the claymore with his right hand and pulled it out of the ground. His left arm he kept pressed against his chest as if to protect it, his teeth bared in a savage snarl. His ebony eyes locked onto Kaoru and the young Keyblade wielder knew the man wasn't going to let him get close enough to break another bone. "I can still fight. No complaining if I kill the brat first."

Haiku shrugged and let her morning star fall from her shoulder. "I won't complain. But remember who you're aiming at."

The black-eyed man turned that manic grin on her, then charged Kaoru. He was barely able to get Guardian between himself and the claymore's edge, but he managed it somehow. He was still flung into the air a good ten feet before crashing down on his side and rolling, all the air driven out of his lungs. He gasped sharply, then shoved himself upright to avoid the strike that would have cleaved him in two if he had been any slower. Still, the claymore's edge kicked up a wave of dirt and earth that pummeled Kaoru as it came down, forcing him to cover his head while he retreated. The wave of earth also cut off his line of sight, so he was unprepared for the morning star howling in for his head. He got his armored arm up between the ball and his head which saved his skull from gaining a few extra holes, but the force of the blow to his arm slammed his own armor back into his face and sent him to the ground, reeling and seeing stars.

The black-eyed man yanked his claymore out of the ground and stalked toward Kaoru, his steps swift and hard. Using one hand, Kaoru pulled himself backwards, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid the incoming swing. His head was ringing and he was seeing stars, which wasn't good at all. His arm also hurt something fierce and he feared the bone was broken. He met the man's eyes and fought to concentrate enough through the pain to get a Holy Shield around himself, hoping that the glimmering shield of light would be enough to protect him.

The black-eyed man lifted his claymore with only his right hand and swung it above his head. Then, with a leering grin, let the weapon begin a downswing that would sever Kaoru's upper half from his lower half.

Thunder barked, loud and sonorous.

Kaoru saw sparks ignite on the claymore's blade and the weapon suddenly went wide. Unable to compensate for the sudden change in momentum, the black-eyed man spun to one side and almost lost his grip on his weapon. Kaoru used the moment to scramble backwards as fast as his ringing head and his one arm would allow, wincing each time thunder spoke.

A man in dressed in black and a tattered red cloak stepped past him, his arm raised as he pulled the trigger of a massive three-barreled handgun. Long black hair flowed down his back and crimson eyes were narrowed as he fired at Haiku and her companion. When he was ten feet in front of Kaoru, he stopped moving, but he didn't stop firing.

Cool, soothing healing magic flowed through Kaoru's body then and he felt a part of himself relax. His friends were here. The ringing in his ears faded and the pain in his head and arm vanished. As he got to his feet, he felt an hand hook under his arm and pull him along. He knew it was Kai without looking. The two didn't retreat far, just a few more feet away from where Kaoru had managed to crawl. Rinally joined them then and she threw her arms around Kaoru in a tight hug.

Then she stepped back and slugged him in the chest. " _That_ was for leaving me behind!"

Kaoru winced at the blow. "I said I was sorry."

"I don't care! Look how beat up you are! You're bleeding!" Rinally gently hovered her hand over Kaoru's temple, a green glow appearing against her palm. Kaoru realized that he must have cut himself when his armor had crashed back into his head. "We figured out that you figured something out, but you can't just run into these things alone."

Kaoru gave her an apologetic smile. "I'll explain later. Right now, we have to stop those two."

Kai grunted softly. "Vincent seems to be doing a good job."

Kaoru turned to look at the black-haired man wielding the gun. Vincent was definitely holding his own against Haiku and her companion, having the advantage of a ranged weapon and the speed to go with it. Every time Haiku or the black-eyed man tried to get close, the gun barked and dirt kicked up where they had been standing. Vincent never moved too far from Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally, acting as the living shield between them and danger. Even when Vincent had to stop and reload his weapon, it was a practiced hand that loaded the bullets into the chambers and snapped it back up to continue firing.

"He's one of Tifa's friends." Rinally explained. She drew her hand back and clutched her staff. "There. All better."

Kaoru rotated his armored shoulder and flexed his elbow and hand. He trusted Rinally's word for his condition. He smiled at her. "I broke the big guy's left arm. He can only wield his sword one-handed. The lady, her name is Haiku. She's got a morning star. She's pretty fast, too."

Kai lifted Sanctuary and rested it on his shoulder. "Sounds like she's my type. Anything else I need to know?"

Kaoru shook his head. "I didn't learn anything else about them. Just try to keep them out of the church. I don't know what they were doing in there, but that's where they came out of."

"Got it." Kai started forward, darkness swirling up and around him to leave him clad in his Black Knight armor. Without a word, he pushed off, racing for Haiku. Vincent disengaged as Kai ran in, presumably to keep from hitting Kai with bullets, but he changed direction, pointing his gun back toward Rinally and Kaoru.

"Down." Vincent ordered, his deep voice making them obey before he had even finished the word. Kaoru and Rinally covered their ears as the gun spat out lead and fire. They watched as the leaping monster was blasted back by Vincent's bullets. It hit the ground and twitched for a whole minute before stilling. "Go."

Kaoru rose. "Can you handle them?"

Vincent smirked and this time those crimson eyes actually warmed slightly. "I've handled worse. Just go. Help your friend."

Kaoru nodded and summoned Guardian to his hand. He looked at Rin, who clutched her staff and nodded, her lips in a thin, determined line.

Together they rushed back to the battlefield. Kaoru caught glimpses of Kai dueling with both Haiku and her companion, holding his own but only just, just like Kaoru had. But now the tide of battle was turning in their favor. It was now going to be three on two, or really, one on one and two on one. As Kai turned to attack Haiku, Rinally unleashed a series of fireballs at the black-eyed man, driving him away from Kai. Rin stopped short then, leaving Kaoru to engage the man himself.

Guardian and the claymore crashed together in deafening sound and blinding sparks, but Kaoru didn't yield this time. The man cursed and snarled, bearing down on Kaoru with all of his weight. Kaoru slid to the left, twisting his body to the side to allow the claymore to hit the ground rather than him, and he drove Guardian into the man's middle, striking twice in quick succession. The man grunted and stumbled backwards a few steps, but Kaoru's assault didn't seem to do anything but anger him. Those all-black eyes narrowed even more and his lips pulled back from his teeth in a vicious snarl. The man's broad shoulders flexed and bulged as he seemed to gain more mass, and Kaoru saw veins pulsing in the man's neck. His only warning that an attack was coming was a twitch in the man's jaw.

The claymore came howling in faster than Kaoru thought it could, and he was saved by his Holy Shield and Rinally's Barrier spell. Kaoru hit the ground and bounced because of the two spells, managing somehow to angle himself back to his feet. He saw the man turn his attention to Rinally and begin stalking toward her. Kaoru didn't bother to yell for her to run; he simply charged at the man's back and went into a flurry of attacks that, surprisingly, the man was able to parry. It brought the man's attention back to Kaoru rather than Rin, and they entered into a vicious dance that Kaoru did his best to survive. That claymore flashed faster and harder than it had before, and despite the fact the man wasn't wielding his weapon with his dominant hand, he was still able to move it in myriad ways to either block or parry Kaoru's Keyblade. It took all of Kaoru's concentration to keep from being slashed or cut by the edge of the claymore. Guardian slipped and slid against the claymore, sending sparks into the air as the two weapons vied against one another for the advantage.

They closed at one point, their weapons crossed between them as the man struggled to overpower Kaoru and as Kaoru fought to keep his balance from being upset. The man grinned down at Kaoru and chuckled darkly. "I can't wait to cut you up, boy. Then I'll start on your pretty little friend."

Kaoru didn't bother to respond verbally. He released Guardian's hilt with his armored hand and punched the man in the nose. The man's head snapped back and he stumbled away from Kaoru, giving the blonde a moment to breathe. It was a short moment, only because the man came back with a vicious backhanded swing that Kaoru barely blocked enough to slip out of the way of the backswing. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaoru saw Rinally turning to give her attention to Kai. He didn't dare take more attention than that away from his opponent, trusting Kai to be able to take care of himself and trusting Rinally to keep him safe. He also heard gunfire in the distance, which meant that Vincent was still doing his part to keep the monsters at bay and keep them from attacking Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally from behind.

The black-eyed man let out a terrible bellow and charged Kaoru with wild abandon, forcing Kaoru to retreat. He swung Guardian only to deflect the claymore but had no time to launch a counterattack of his own. The man had gone completely berserk and was swinging the claymore without much care of where it went or who it hit. He missed Kaoru more often than not, and each time Kaoru deflected the claymore, the man seemed to become more incensed. His strength seemed to increase tenfold with his berserker state, and Kaoru was doing all he could to retaliate and keep that claymore from hurting him or killing him. He couldn't find any advantage he could use to get close to his opponent to deliver any kind of strike, nor could he break away long enough to use Cascade or any other move. He ducked and dodged and rolled and parried, always looking for an opening he could take advantage of to try and put his enemy down.

Perhaps he should have seen it coming, or perhaps his inexperience with combat against another person made him blind to it, but when the man faltered in his step and stumbled backwards slightly, Kaoru took the opportunity to begin his assault. He charged forward, drawing Guardian back in order to make his first strike as powerful as possible in hopes that it would be his last and he could put his opponent down. The retaliatory attack was slow for all the swiftness of the claymore as it whipped toward Kaoru's feet. He jumped high, twisting his body so he could put power behind his attack. A second later, Kaoru realized he'd been baited into attacking when he saw the manic grin spread across his enemy's face, and he realized that in opening himself up for an offensive attack, he'd left himself without any defense. The claymore that had swung so slowly at his ankles switched directions and was now speeding toward his spine.

He'd been tricked and he'd fallen for it. Kaoru tried to twist his body enough to get Guardian between himself and the claymore, but the best he could do was reverse his grip on the Keyblade and grasp it with both hands to pull it close to his side. He tucked his legs up, brought his elbows in, and ducked his chin against his chest to try and brace himself against the impact that was coming.

And it came hard.

The edge of the claymore crashed against Guardian's blade, which sent a ripple of pain through Kaoru's entire side. For a second, Kaoru felt as if time had stopped and he was floating in midair, an immovable object to the claymore's unstoppable force. Then, suddenly, he was flying through the air. His back crashed against something solid and he exploded through the wall of the church. He hit a pillar with his right shoulder and spun halfway around before he hit the floor, skidded, and splashed into a pool of crystalline water. Kaoru gasped for air but only sucked in water. He choked on it and slowly sank to the bottom of the pool, unable to find the strength to even try to stand.

 _Don't give up._

Kaoru cracked his eyes open, staring up through glittering blue water at a ghostly image above him. He could barely make it out as human-shaped, but he couldn't tell if it was his imagination or if his enemy was standing over him, ready to deliver the final blow.

 _Don't stop fighting. You're more powerful than you know._

Bubbles trailed up from his mouth as he tried to reply, distorting the image of the person above him. For a second, Kaoru thought it was Tae, which couldn't be, because she was with Hiromu somewhere, more a puppet than a person, but somewhere in his heart, he knew that wasn't who this person was.

 _The Light chose you as its champion for a reason, you know._

Not Tae, but another woman. Someone who radiated light and purity in a way Kaoru innately recognized. Someone who was here but not. The woman smiled and reached her hand down toward him.

 _Your Keyblade is you, and you are your Keyblade. You are Guardian. Embrace your true power, Kaoru, and fight._

Kaoru reached for the woman's hand, his fingers stretching out toward hers.

 _Your friends need you now._

Kai. Rin. They were still out there fighting, not knowing what happened to him except for what they had seen. If they faltered, they were going to die. If they tried to come after him, they were going to die. If they gave up fighting, they were going to die. It was just like Halloween Town, when he'd fought Hiromu and almost died. Kai had kept him from being mortally wounded and Rinally had saved his life with her magic. They had stood by him even in his weakest moments. He couldn't leave them behind. He couldn't let them die.

He couldn't let them fight alone.

He loved his friends. They were his power. They were his strength.

Kaoru wondered if Kai had had the same thoughts when he'd seen Kaoru blasted out the wall in Oogie Boogie's mansion and had awakened his Black Knight mode.

As if that sole thought was the answer the ghost woman had been waiting for, she smiled brilliantly at him and gripped Kaoru's hand tightly. Kaoru closed his eyes against the bright light that suddenly flared above him and felt warmth suffuse his body. His aches and pains vanished with the warmth. His body seemed to rejuvenate as power rushed through him. His exhaustion faded away to a mere memory. Kaoru gripped Guardian tightly and pulled the Keyblade close to him, resting the hilt against his heart.

Then he opened his eyes.


	45. Chapter 45

Forty-Four - Edge/Midgar

Kai barely heard Rinally's scream as he ducked under the howling morning star aimed for his head. He brought Sanctuary up in retaliation, catching the chain with the hooked blade at the end of it. He spun his Keyblade in a wide circle to loop the chain around the long part of his weapon, then yanked as hard as he could while twisting his body in a circle. He heard Haiku grunt as she lost her grip on her morning star, and continued with his followthrough to throw her own weapon back at her. She wasn't expecting that, nor was she expecting Kai to flicker through the air after the weapon and land three successive hits on her torso with Sanctuary.

In the moment Kai had spun, he'd caught a good glimpse of the situation taking place on the other side of the battlefield. He saw Haiku's companion, the man with the claymore, staring at a giant hole in the church's side with a wide manic grin. Rinally was a good twenty or thirty feet away from the man, clutching to her staff with wide maroon eyes. Kaoru was nowhere to be seen. Kai quickly figured out what must have happened.

As much as he wanted to go to Kaoru's side, as much as he wanted to reach Rin, he couldn't afford to. His enemy was still very much active, and if he couldn't take care of her, he couldn't take care of the man either. But he knew he was starting to slow down. He wasn't used to his Black Knight mode yet, and he couldn't sustain it as long as he wanted to. He could use it in bursts, and it had helped him against his enemies only twice before now. If he didn't put Haiku in the dirt soon, he would lose his advantage and he would be relegated back to his usual tricks. He could only hold onto the hope that Kaoru would recover soon and would get back to the fight in time to protect Rin.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Haiku laughed, clutching her side. Kai looked at her and decided his blow must have bruised, or maybe even broken, her ribs. "That's too bad, don't you think? All that potential, wasted. You know, you've got some potential yourself. Why don't you consider coming to work for us?"

Kai responded by pushing off with his left foot and striking for Haiku's neck with Sanctuary's edge. She bent backwards and grabbed her morning star's handle as she did, flicking the spiked ball up toward Kai's face. The flickering black material that acted as both a cloak and "wings" came up between him and the ball, doing its best to be a shield. The spikes still pierced through the flickering material and came close to gouging out Kai's eye. Kai disengaged, spinning around to face Haiku again. He went low, changing his center of gravity, and adjusted his grip on Sanctuary.

Haiku started laughing. "I suppose you're right. If it were that easy, we would have Sora and his little brigade on our side, wouldn't we?"

Kai felt a bloom of heat against his back and heard Rinally's voice fading in the background. He heard a deep male laugh and it took all his willpower not to look. "You really are overconfident, aren't you?"

"Kid, I've been fighting longer than you've been alive." Haiku told him, twirling her morning star to build up speed. "I've been fighting this war between Darkness and Light since the beginning of it all. You only recently awakened to your Keyblade. And this fancy armor of yours? What do you really expect that to do?"

Kai shrugged. "I expect it's going to protect me. It's armor."

Haiku laughed. "You've got a good sense of humor, kiddo."

"What do you expect to do, lady? You're fighting a war that can't be won. Darkness and Light are two sides of the same coin. You can't destroy one without destroying the other."

"It isn't about winning. It's about protecting the worlds. You Keyblade wielders disrupt the careful balance between Light and Darkness, and each time you fight, you tilt the balance too far one way or another. If you're gone-" Haiku stopped, her teeth bared in a feral smile. "I don't know whether to be impressed with you or severely disappointed."

Kai shrugged again. "I don't really care how you feel. But I get it now."

"It really is a shame. You and your little friend Kaoru have some of the rarest Keyblades in the known worlds. You two could be of real use to us if you chose to switch sides."

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Hiromu. I picked Kaoru. He's my Light. You won't be able to sway me one way or another."

Haiku's eyes flicked to Rinally. "And her? What about your little sorceress?"

Kai's Heartless eyes flashed. "I picked her, too. She's my friend."

"Well, your friend is about to die. Shouldn't you go save her?"

Despite his instincts telling him to look, Kai managed to keep his attention focused on Haiku. He launched himself at her with all the speed he could muster, but didn't quite launch into his Nightmare Raid attack. He didn't want to use that much power just yet. Haiku wasn't worth it, and he needed to save his strength to face the man with the claymore. He knew Rinally was handling herself; he could smell the smoke in the air, the burning scent of ozone, and he could feel the chill of ice and heat of fire against his skin. As long as she didn't run out of mana - which, if she got the opportunity to drink those mana potions Elena had given her, she wouldn't - Rinally could hold her own for as long as it took for him to reach her. He swung Sanctuary slowly for all the power behind it, exploring Haiku's defenses. She seemed to know what he was after, because she kept her morning star swinging and close to herself, rather than trying to lash out with it and keep him at a distance.

How long they traded blows, Kai didn't know. He ignored everything else around him, even that pulsing feeling of intense Light against his mind, to focus on fighting Haiku. She was grinning at him, batting his strikes aside with practiced ease. Kai knew he was outclassed here, even for all his strength. He couldn't do this on his own, but he was damn well going to try.

He ducked under the chain of the morning star and dropped low. He avoided Haiku's kick to his solar plexus and caught her ankle with the hooked blade of Sanctuary. He yanked hard, swinging his arm wide to pull her off balance, only to find the tables turned on him. Her smirk was his only warning that she'd tricked him, which barely saved his life as the spiked ball of the morning star howled in for his face. Kai tapped into his power over Darkness and flickered away before the spiked ball crashed into his skull, but when he reappeared only five feet away from Haiku, on his knees and using Sanctuary to just keep himself upright, he could feel hot blood sliding down his face.

He reached up and gingerly touched the gash that went from the edge of his left orbital socket to the front of his chin. He couldn't tell how deep it was, but it was incredibly painful and bleeding profusely.

 _I can't keep this up._ Kai thought as he pressed his hand to the wound. It stung and protested the pressure, but Kai didn't have anything else with which to use to staunch the bleeding. _I can't get close to her, and I can't get within her guard long enough to really hurt her. I think I broke some ribs, but they don't seem to be bothering her. Kaoru, where the hell are you?!_

He felt a hand grasp his shoulder and cool healing magic flowed through his body. He flinched as he felt his wound stitching itself up, leaving only smooth, flawless skin beneath his hand. Rinally crouched beside him, her head turned away from Haiku to look at the man with the claymore. She was panting, with sweat rolling down her face. She was dirty and her clothes were torn, but she was still ready to fight. Kai nodded to her and together they rose, standing back to back, facing their enemies.

"Looks like the calvary's not coming, brats." growled the man with the claymore. "Got any last words?"

Despite himself, Kai grinned. "Yeah, I got some. Go fu-"

The claymore came howling in toward them faster than Kai could react and faster than Rinally could cast a defensive spell. Haiku and her morning star attacked at the same time, catching them in a pincer attack that would end up with both of them dead no matter how they decided to react.

Kai watched his end coming. Rinally clung to him, her eyes wide and filled with frustrated tears.

The air suddenly shimmered with prismatic light and both the blade of the claymore and the spiked ball of the morning star were suddenly stopped. Kai recognized the shield immediately: it was Kaoru's Holy Shield.

Rin let out a soft breath. "He can't cast this without being close to us."

"But he did." Kai replied, just as shocked as Rin.

A pulse came off the Holy Shield then, clear like a ripple in a lake. The claymore and morning star were thrown backwards, and as they went, so did their wielders. Haiku and her companion hit the dirt, tumbling in a helter-skelter manner before coming to a violent stop. Another pulse rippled off the Shield, but this time inward, brushing against Kai and Rinally. Kai couldn't help the flinch he gave because of the touch of the Light, but his Darkness reacted, and his fatigue slipped away little by little. He glanced at Rinally, noticing that her skin had regained some color and there was a fierce fire in her maroon eyes. He grinned.

"He's _my_ Darkness." Kaoru's voice came from behind them all, from the direction of the church. "And she's _my_ best friend. They're my greatest treasures, and my greatest power. I won't let you hurt them."

Both Kai and Rinally turned toward the church, unsure of what they would see. It was definitely Kaoru. Kai recognized Guardian, the gold and white Keyblade softly glowing as it was held in Kaoru's right hand. But Kaoru seemed different somehow.

"He's wearing armor just like you." Rinally said, her voice tinged with awe. "White Knight."

Kai looked from Rin back to Kaoru just as the blonde boy stepped a little closer with a measured, deliberate step. He realized she was right, but she was wrong, too. Kaoru's armor wasn't like his at all. Kai used the power of Darkness to form his armor from Darkness itself, encasing his limbs in hard shadows and the deep light that existed in all Darkness. Kaoru had used the power of Light to armor himself.

The plate armor was form-fitting to Kaoru's body, glowing softly with muted light. It didn't seem like it would protect him at all, but Kai knew differently. The pure light encircled his chest and stomach, and trailed down his thighs and behind him in an almost cloth-like fashion, as if he were wearing a coat rather than armor. Darkness lurked at the very edges of those plates, revealing the deep darkness that existed behind every Light. His legs and arms were covered in chainmail-like armor that glimmered each time Kaoru took a step forward. Armored boots went up to his knees. Like Kai, Kaoru had no helmet, but his electrically charged, fly-away blonde hair did little to hide the white diadem that wound around his head. Small motes of light trailed around his shoulders, coalescing and flitting apart as they decided, giving the impression of wings.

Reaching them, Kaoru lifted his hand, and the Holy Shield burst apart into tiny motes of light, flickering and disappearing into nothingness. Then he stepped between Kai and Rinally, forming a triangle with Light as its head, and Darkness and Shadow behind. Kaoru raised Guardian and pointed it toward Haiku and her companion. He didn't say anything, didn't give a signal, but Kai and Rinally knew what to do.

Both Kai and Kaoru shoved off, blurs of white and black, speeding toward Haiku and her companion. Sanctuary and Guardian struck the morning star and the claymore respectively, driving Haiku and her companion backwards. Kaoru and Kai kept close to one another, weaving their attacks into a sinuous dance that allowed no quarter for their enemies, nor did it allow them to get a fix on where the next attack would come from. With the power of Light and Darkness behind their attacks, Kai and Kaoru pounded away at their enemies, relentless and unforgiving. Now they had Haiku and her companion running on the defensive, and they were giving everything they had to their attacks, committing every ounce of power to their blows. Behind them, Rinally cast her healing spells, Cures and Curagas sent their way if she even thought they might need it. She even launched a few offensive spells when she found an opening, but they weren't as powerful as they could have been.

Kai and Kaoru split apart at last, each one taking on their own opponent. Kai squared off against Haiku again, while Kaoru once more faced the man with the claymore. No matter how they moved, it seemed as though Kai and Kaoru were innately aware of each other, knowing exactly where to move to keep from getting into each other's range. The noise that filled the area was deafening as Keyblades crashed against the morning star and claymore. Despite their inexperience, Kai and Kaoru were holding their own better than they had before against Haiku and her companion. Both Haiku and her companion were no longer smiling, rather wearing serious expressions as they met the attacks of their opponents. It wasn't so much that they were evenly matched, but that Kaoru and Kai could move almost instantly to react to whatever Haiku and her companion decided to try.

Kaoru slid Guardian along the claymore's edge on an angle, allowing his body to slide past the slash and close the distance between him and the black-eyed man. He released Guardian's hilt with one hand and slammed his closed fist, knuckles first, into the man's side, just under his last rib. The man grunted and dropped his shoulder, shoving Kaoru backwards so he could get the claymore between them. Kaoru danced backwards and drew his arm back to release Guardian in a hard throw. At the last instance, the Keyblade exploded into bright golden motes, and Cascade rained down on both of them. The black-eyed man howled in severe pain as the prismatic rain touched his skin and he thrashed like a wild animal in a trap. He swung his claymore as if that would help his situation, but all it seemed to do was make things worse. Each time he cut through an array of the motes, they would explode into a thousand more, and a thousand more again, becoming a fine mist that seemed to cover every inch of him.

Kaoru caught Guardian as it reformed and rushed toward the black-eyed man, coming in low. He avoided a wild swing of the claymore, feeling the wind of it rush over his skin. He flinched, but held his course, rushing toward the black-eyed man as fast as he could. He struck fast and struck hard, landing successive hits on the man's hips, sides, and chest. He didn't feel anything give under his strikes, but he was certain his opponent would be sporting some nasty bruises if he survived Kaoru's assault. He took a moment to glance toward Kai, watching his friend become more or less a black blur as he spun around Haiku, striking at her with Darkness-enhanced speed. Kaoru looked back toward his opponent, ducking under a strike aimed for his head and juked to one side, angling Guardian down and to the left to let the claymore scrape down the Keyblade instead of Kaoru's body. Sparks flew from the collision of the two metals, showering Kaoru with the bright motes. He closed his left eye to protect it from the bright light, scared that the sparks would land on his skin and burn him.

Cascade finally stopped falling, leaving Kaoru facing his opponent without the shimmering display of his Keyblade's power.

The black-eyed man's lips split into a wide, feral, vicious grin. The claymore shivered as he hauled back on the weapon, bringing it up for another attack. He lunged forward faster than Kaoru had expected him to be able to move, and it was just by sheer luck and Rinally's Barrier spell that Kaoru managed to avoid being skewered. The claymore skidded along the Barrier and kicked up a cloud of dust as it slammed into the ground, but it didn't remain stuck for long. Using his body like a pendulum, the black-eyed man swung himself to the opposite side of the claymore and yanked it out of the earth, showering Kaoru with clods of dirt. He saw the glint of sunlight on metal and threw himself to one side, falling into a tumble roll that brought him back to his feet so he could swing Guardian around and stop the claymore from digging into his spine. Their was a high-pitched squeal as metal struck metal, and Kaoru twisted his body out of the path of the claymore to avoid being sliced on its sharp edge.

"Not bad, kid." the black-eyed man growled. "Not bad at all."

Kaoru didn't reply, staring at his opponent and trying to catch his breath. He had to defeat this man, and defeat him soon. He didn't know how long he was going to be able to stay in White Knight mode, and he was already feeling the strain of sustaining the armor along with the exhaustion born of his on-going battle. Still, he couldn't see a way to defeat the enemy before him. The man was bigger and stronger, and certainly more experienced. He knew how to use his weapon as both offense and defense, and he wasn't giving Kaoru much of an opportunity to get within his guard. Cascade had been Kaoru's best chance, but even with the dazzling display of light-infused rain, he hadn't been able to get close.

"You know," the man said, "you could stop all this right now. All you have to do is pledge yourself to us. To the Brotherhood. We can teach you how to use your power to its fullest. We'll protect you. We'll give you everything you could ever dream of."

"I want my friends back." Kaoru said sharply. "I want Hiromu and Tae back. I want Paradise City back. I want you to stop trying to destroy everything Sora's trying to protect."

When he saw the man's lips tic to one side, Kaoru knew the attack was coming and coming fast. He saw the feint for what it was and jumped high, avoiding the sweep of the claymore that should have hit his ankles. He saw the surprise in the man's eyes as he came down and knew the man was overbalanced; he couldn't retreat in time to avoid Kaoru's next strike, and would have to abandon his weapon in order to gain a safe distance. Knowing this, Kaoru feinted for the man's arm, as if to break his wrist to keep him from being able to swing the claymore if he managed to regain the weapon. As the man released the claymore's hilt to avoid the strike, Kaoru switched his target, bringing his Keyblade down low for the man's knee. Too late did his opponent realize the true target, and he wasn't able to avoid Guardian as it howled in for the vulnerable joint.

 _SNAP_

The sound was loud and wet. The man let out a savage howl as his knee broke. Without the claymore now to balance him, he fell heavily to the ground. He clutched his broken limb, howling like a savage wind or rabid wolf. Those black eyes focused on Kaoru and his lips lifted in a feral snarl. Kaoru lunged forward, determined not to let the man get another attack in. Guardian sped for the man's chest, intending to intercept any attack that was coming, as well as to try to keep the man down. Instead, Guardian hit dirt as the man rolled to one side. But rather than going for the claymore and continuing the fight, the man raised his hand and opened a portal of pure darkness. Kaoru recognized the forming image on the other side as the Paths, the World Between Worlds.

"I won't forget this, Keyblade brat!" the man snarled. "The next time we meet, I will kill you!"

"Stop!" Kaoru started forward, but there was nothing he could do. The man practically fell through the portal and it closed immediately after him. Kaoru slowed to a halt, staring at the space where the man had once been.

He heard a woman cry out, and looked up to the sky and saw Kai hooking Sanctuary's blade around Haiku's ankle as she hung almost suspended in the air above him. Then Kai swung his Keyblade, sending Haiku hurtling back down to the ground. She hit the ground with enough force to create a small crater. Kai landed lightly, his Black Knight mode dispelling as soon as he was still. In sympathy, or maybe because Kaoru was just as exhausted as Kai, his White Knight mode burst off his body in a corona of light. Holding Guardian tightly, Kaoru hurried to join his friends, hoping that Haiku wouldn't just vanish like her companion.


	46. Chapter 46

Forty-Five - Edge/Midgar

Vincent joined them moments after Rinally had finished tying the last knot on the ropes that bound Haiku's hands behind her back. The woman was unconscious at the moment, her head lolling on her shoulders. Blood stained her face and neck, and it was clear that the ankle Kai had grabbed with Sanctuary was broken. Kai and Kaoru had hauled Haiku out of the crater she'd made, Rin had given her basic first aid just to make sure the woman wasn't about to die on them, and then they had tied her up. Vincent studied the woman seated on the ground between the three teenagers, then looked at the church. His crimson eyes narrowed for a minute, about the only emotion Kai had seen Vincent give, before he turned to look at their captive with his usual impassive mask.

Kaoru stared at Vincent for a moment, looked at the church, then looked back to Vincent. "Sorry," he said.

Vincent shook his head. "The housing isn't important. It's what's within that matters."

Kaoru wasn't sure if Vincent was talking about the church building, or if he was talking about something else. Vincent's attention turned to Haiku then and his head tilted to one side, but he said nothing.

Kai looked at Kaoru. "Should we wake her up?"

"We need to get answers from her. Her friend ran away, so she's our only lead now."

Rinally cracked her knuckles. "One alarm clock, coming right up."

Kaoru wondered if Rin maybe went a little too far as she called up a tiny Blizzard spell and allowed the ice to drop down Haiku's coat against her skin. Haiku snapped awake with a startled gasp, her entire body straining to get away from the frigid lump sliding down her spine. She looked startled that she couldn't run. It was then she realized she was bound and that she was surrounded by Kaoru, Kai, Rinally, and Vincent. Haiku bared her teeth in a harsh grin, but before she could lunge forward at either of the teenagers, Vincent drew his three-barreled shotgun and leveled it at her face. His finger danced on the trigger, as if daring her to give him a reason.

"Okay," Haiku said, lifting her shoulders in a shrug. "I'll be a good girl."

Kai lowered Sanctuary just enough for the Keyblade to be in Haiku's peripheral. "You're going to answer our questions truthfully. If you do that, then we'll let you go."

"And what if I don't want to answer?"

Kaoru shrugged. "It's either us or the people who protect this world. And they aren't really happy with you right now."

As if to accentuate Kaoru's statement, Vincent's crimson eyes narrowed and his finger tightened on the trigger even more. Haiku stared at him, but Kaoru couldn't figure out if her expression was one daring Vincent to shoot her or one of actual fear.

Rinally crouched before Haiku and glowered at the woman. "First off, what does the Brotherhood really want?"

"I already figured out the how." Kaoru said. "You're creating false Heartless by congealing Light and Darkness together, but they're empty. That's why you needed a Keyblade and a Princess of Heart. The Keyblade you could use to unlock hearts from normal Heartless, or even people, and with the Princess, you could put those hearts in the bodies of your puppets. The rods allow you to control those hearts, but once you remove the rod, the heart expires. The puppet dies."

Haiku didn't say anything, but her black-shrouded green eyes narrowed.

"So what's the why?" Kai asked. "Why try to disrupt the balance between Light and Darkness?"

"Who's saying _we're_ disrupting it?" Haiku said, her voice tight. "Sora and his little group have been disrupting it for a long, long time. At first, Sora's little journey was to stop Ansem from destroying everything, and then when the Organization showed up, his duty was to stop them from creating a false Kingdom Hearts. That should've been the end of it. But then he started going around to different worlds and eradicating the darkness growing in them. He started to open more worlds, worlds that should've remained closed off. The Light began to swell, driving back the Darkness. This whole thing started with Sora."

"Maybe it did, maybe it didn't." Kai said. "But that doesn't explain what you're doing. The thing about Light and Darkness is that they're always in flux, with one becoming slightly stronger than the other. They balance each other out eventually, either through calling a champion to fix things or just by the natural course of time."

"Hiromu said there was a war coming." Kaoru said softly. "A war between Light and Darkness, and only one side was going to survive. But you're not on either side, are you? You don't care if the Light wins or if the Darkness wins."

Haiku's jaw tightened. Then she barked out a soft laugh. "You really are smart, you know that? You could've done so much for us, if you were anything like your little pal Hiromu." She shook her head. "There's a war coming between Light and Darkness. The forces of Light and the forces of Dark are going to go at each other with the intent of wiping each other out. Of course, the more powerful side will win. The Brotherhood doesn't care which side wins because _neither_ side is going to win. We, who have been driven to the shadows, _we_ will win."

Rinally felt a shiver thrum through her body. "The army you're making was never meant to overrun just Sora. You were going to wait until the Light and Darkness engaged each other, and then when they were too busy fighting each other to defend themselves, you were going to kill them all."

Haiku grinned. "No more Light, no more Darkness. A perfect shadow. And in that shadow, the Brotherhood would rise with the last remaining Princess of Heart and the only Keyblade wielder to survive the slaughter. And the worlds would welcome us as saviors. We could have whatever we wanted, just for the asking."

Both Kai and Kaoru exchanged glances. Kaoru focused on Haiku and asked, "But don't you realize that if both Darkness and Light are gone, so are the worlds?"

Haiku shook her head. "The worlds will still exist. They may not be how they are now, but they'll exist. Because the Princesses will still exist, and because the people will still exist. Light and Darkness will eventually return - they can't really be permanently destroyed - but we'll be ready to put them down again. Them, and any Keyblade wielder that shows up."

"Because the Keyblade wielder will champion one side or the other." Rin said. Haiku only grinned at the girl. Rinally narrowed her eyes and looked up at her friends. "We can't let the Brotherhood do this."

"We won't." Kai growled softly. He focused on Haiku. "Your boss, Ennio, what does he want out of this?"

Haiku shrugged. "This? All this is just an experiment to him. To see if we can. When we succeed, then Ennio will just find another project to work on. The rest of the Brotherhood will go to the worlds and ensure that the real Heartless are kept at bay. Like I said, heroes."

"There's got to be more to his motive than that."

"If there is, it's not like I know it."

Rinally rose and moved a short distance away from Haiku, followed by Kaoru and Kai. The three stood close together, keeping their voices low. Rinally whispered, "I don't know if we can believe her. She gave all this up rather easy."

"I think she's speaking the truth." Kai replied. "This is all too incredible to be a lie thought up just to please us, especially since she basically confirmed what Kaoru figured out."

"But to destroy both Light and Darkness..."

"Either way," Kaoru said softly, "we have to get to Radiant Garden. We have to warn Sora, if he doesn't know already. What we know is that they're still making this army. Even if they can't use Tae to put hearts into the false Heartless, they still have Hiromu to get them those hearts. I don't believe that it's just a Princess they need to put those hearts inside the puppets, just that she might make the process faster."

Rinally pressed her lips together. "Do you think there's something more to this?"

"There has to be." said Kai. "This is all too elaborate just to be a set up for a spectacular coup."

"Do you think they're after Kingdom Hearts?" Kaoru asked. Kai and Rinally looked at him with questioning expressions. Kaoru tilted his head. "Well, maybe not the Brotherhood itself. Not Haiku and her friend. But Ennio? Remember on Belle's world, he wanted to see what would happen if he got control of the Beast? And then on Pocahontas's world, what happened to John Smith and Ratcliffe?"

Rinally folded her arms over her chest. "You think he's playing everyone?"

"They can already control Darkness-oriented things. They want to control Light-oriented things." Kaoru shrugged. "I don't know much about Kingdom Hearts, but if Haiku's right, and Sora was originally tapped by the forces that control the Keyblade to protect it, then maybe it's Kingdom Hearts Ennio is after."

"What would he want that place for?" Rinally wondered.

"I don't know, but it can't be anything good."

"Let's not put our eggs all on one basket," Kai said, "and let's keep a few working theories. We've got all the clues we're going to get at the moment, so we just have to fit them into the puzzle and see where they belong. Let's assume the Brotherhood wants to destroy Light and Darkness and be the only hope the worlds have of beating back the true Heartless, and let's assume Ennio's been using the Brotherhood to get to Kingdom Hearts. Both might be right, and both might be wrong, but it's what we have to work with right now."

Kaoru nodded. "If both are right, then we're all in trouble."

Thunder shattered the otherwise peaceful silence with a sudden and deafening boom. Kaoru spun around in time to see Haiku lunging toward him with outstretched arms, her fingers hooked like claws. Blood fountained from her left shoulder, but she didn't seem to notice. Behind her, Vincent was reloading his shotgun, but even if he brought it to bear, there was a high chance that his shot would miss its target and hit Rinally, Kai, or Kaoru. Haiku closed in on Kaoru, her lips pulled back from her teeth in a feral snarl.

Just before her hands reached his throat, Kaoru brought Guardian up to stop her from getting close to him. She was going too fast for him to bring the Keyblade across his body in a defensive position, and instead had the weapon angled out with the tip of Guardian pointed toward Haiku's chest. Kaoru cried out as her entire weight impacted on the Keyblade, shoving him back and to the ground. He hit hard enough to drive all the breath out of his body, and stared up at Haiku's wild green eyes. Her covering had come undone, revealing her face entirely. The skin around her eyes was blackened and burned and scarred over, but her eyes were far from blind. They glowed bright green, her pupils tiny black dots in the center of an emerald circle. Her hands curled around Kaoru's throat but didn't tighten.

Kaoru felt something hot and wet splatter against his face as Haiku coughed violently. He faintly heard Rinally calling his name, but he couldn't get the breath to reply to her. His eyes glanced down to Haiku's chest, and realized that Guardian now pierced her breast, right through her heart. And not only was Guardian through her heart, but so was Sanctuary. Kai, his Heartless eyes burning bright with anger and fear, crouched over Haiku's back, driving his Keyblade through Haiku from behind. The black and violet Keyblade was perfectly parallel with the silver and gold Keyblade, both Light and Darkness piercing a single heart.

Haiku lifted her hand and stroked Kaoru's cheek with obscene gentleness. "You won't win." she whispered. "Because to win against us, you'll have to sacrifice everything."

Her body slumped, but before Kaoru could even begin to try to move her, Haiku's corpse burst apart in swirling motes of silver and violet. Floating in the air for a split second was a crystalline heart, prismatic and shimmering. Then that too vanished, leaving Kaoru laying on his back on the ground, Guardian narrowly missing Kai's chest, and Kai kneeling over Kaoru, with Sanctuary piercing the ground beside Kaoru's side. A few inches one way for either Keyblade, and they would have wounded each other.

"Kaoru! Kai!" Rinally screamed, rushing to their sides. She slid to her knees beside them, reaching to touch each of them. That seemed to start both of them, and Kaoru felt his eyes well with tears. Both Guardian and Sanctuary vanished, and Kaoru surged up off the ground to grab Kai and Rinally in as tight a hug as he could. Both of them returned the hug just as tightly, squeezing each other as if they were afraid to let go.

Vincent soon loomed over them, his crimson eyes showing concern. "Are you injured?"

"I... I don't think so." Kaoru pulled back from his friends long enough to check his body, and he was relieved to find everything in one piece. Then he touched his face, and his fingers came away wet with blood. His stomach twisted.

Kai let out a harsh breath. "We killed her."

"I've never killed anyone before." Kaoru whispered. "I mean... when I fight, I expect it, but... I've never... I've never..."

Vincent crouched and put his hands on each boy's shoulder. His eyes were kind as he studied them, and his words, when they came, were gentle. "The first time is always the most difficult."

Kaoru stared at Vincent for a minute. "You've killed people?"

"Yes. Many people. Many monsters. A life is a life, whether it walks on two legs, three legs, four, has fins... But it doesn't mean I don't feel guilty about it."

"How do you..."

"I fight to protect my friends. It's them or my enemy, and if my enemy is dead, then my friends, the people I care about most, are still alive and safe."

Kai looked at Kaoru, who met his eyes with uncertainty. Kaoru looked like he was going to start crying at any moment, and Kai couldn't blame him. He kind of wanted to cry himself. And, of course, Rinally _was_ crying. Silently, but still crying. She was still holding tightly to them, trying to keep close to them. Kai turned his attention to Vincent and said, "She was going to kill Kaoru. I couldn't let her do that."

"She was going to kill me," Kaoru whispered, "and I didn't want to die."

Vincent nodded, understanding. "You're all very young, and you're accomplished warriors. But when you fight, you have to expect two things: to kill and to die. If you don't want to die, then you have to kill. That's all there is to it."

Rinally sniffled and hugged her friends tight again. "I'm just happy you two are okay!"

Kaoru hugged her back and felt grateful for her presence. Kai tightened his hold on Kaoru and Rin both, closing his eyes for a minute. When he reopened them, he said, "There's nothing left for us to do here. We need to get back, let Tifa know what's going on, and then we have to keep moving."

Vincent rose, pulled out a cellphone, and used his thumb to hit a button. He brought the phone up to his ear and after whoever it was on the other end of the line answered, said, "I'm bringing the kids home. Yeah." He listened for a minute, grunted, then hung up.

Soon, Kaoru could hear the sound of a helicopter coming closer and realized the Turks were on their way.

They returned to the Seventh Heaven, where Tifa, Marlene, a young man who identified himself as Denzel, and Rufus were waiting for them. In halting words, Kaoru told them everything that had happened, including everything he had learned and everything that had happened after they had captured and questioned Haiku. Tifa gave each of them a tight hug, then sent the three of them upstairs to clean up and change into fresh clothes. When Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally returned downstairs, Tifa and her group, along with Rufus and his Turks, had gathered in the Seventh Heaven's dining room with tables filled with food.

"Stay the night," Tifa said to Kaoru, "and have dinner with us. You can head out in the morning."

Kaoru looked at Kai and Rin, then smiled at Tifa and nodded. Surrounded by warriors who knew exactly what they had experienced, and who didn't look at them with pity and who treated them like warriors themselves, Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally felt as though they were among family, soon understanding why all these people fought hard and didn't look back at the bodies that were left behind. But just because they didn't look back didn't mean they didn't regret the killing, that they didn't wish another way had been found, or that they forgot those who fell before them. They accepted it, and moved on, because of that why.

"They protect their hearts," Kai commented quietly, his green gaze alighting on Kaoru and Rinally.

"Because a person's heart is made up of all the connections they've made with other people," Rinally said just as softly, "and so it isn't just for themselves that they fight."

Kaoru smiled and leaned back in his chair, reaching across the space between him and Kai and Rinally to link their hands together. Silent, they sat like that, three links in a powerful chain, and knew that they would do whatever it took to prevent that chain from breaking.


	47. Chapter 47

Forty-Six - Sora Interlude; Radiant Garden

"Mail's here!" called Yuffie, entering into Aerith's house with her hands full of letters. There wasn't an answer right away, but Yuffie heard Aerith's voice from the kitchen and knew the brunette woman would be out soon to help her sort the day's delivery of correspondence.

Yuffie wasn't surprised that Aerith was the only one in the house. Everyone tended to use either Aerith's home or Merlin's house as meeting places. Lately, what with the Brotherhood moving as much as they were, there was an unspoken rule that Aerith's house would be used as a congregation point. Rather, _the_ congregation point. Even if they weren't inside keeping watch, Leon and Cloud were always lurking around outside keeping watch. They had help in the form of Aqua, Terra, and Ventus, the three Keyblade wielders who had come before Sora, Riku, and Kairi and were directly responsible for those three getting Keyblades themselves. Yuffie didn't quite understand it, but she usually didn't pay attention when the Keyblade wielders got together and talked shop.

Yuffie set the piles of mail on the table and leaned her hands on the wood and stared at all the envelopes laid out on the table. Some were fan letters from people all over the known worlds, some were bills and those Yuffie would let Leon deal with because for some inexplicable reason she couldn't fathom, he was _good_ at that kind of stuff, and some were letters from friends both distant and intimate. Everyone's mail ended up here at Radiant Garden since it was everyone's last known location, but if someone wasn't here they'd either hold the mail until they returned - like when Leon and Cloud went to the Coliseum - or they would find a way for the mail's intended recipient to get their stuff, like giving the sack full of undelivered letters to Cid to deliver when he made trips to other worlds.

"Oh, Sora," said Aerith as she exited the kitchen and looked behind Yuffie, "welcome back."

Yuffie looked over her shoulder at Sora, Riku, and Kairi. They had been gone for a few days, meeting up with friends from Twilight Town before Sora's inexplicable need to be somewhere took them to Ivalice, then to Eos, and then to Disney Castle where they met with King Mickey and Queen Minnie, along with Donald and Goofy. They looked a little tired, but then, Yuffie surmised, they all did after a while.

Sora smiled at Aerith. "Thanks. Have you seen Aqua and the others? We did a quick circuit around Radiant Garden, but we haven't been able to find them."

Aerith tapped her chin. "Oh, I think they went with Leon and Cloud out to The Great Maw. There's been more Heartless activity out there, and Leon doesn't want it spilling in to the town."

Riku blew out a sigh. "A Keyblade Master's work is never done."

"Are you guys hungry? I just finished making lunch."

"Sure. I'm pretty famished myself. But I'm gonna hurry up to my room and clean up a little bit." Kairi all but skipped away from her friends, dashing up the stairs near the back of the house and disappearing.

"I'll be right back." Aerith disappeared into the kitchen again and soon they could hear sounds of plates being pulled from cabinets.

Sora and Riku headed toward the table, where Yuffie gave them both a big smile. "Did you guys have fun?"

Riku settled into a chair and folded his arms over his chest. "Define 'fun'."

"Well, you know. Did you get to see any sights? Did you get to fight anything cool? Did you bring me back anything?"

"Typical Yuffie. Always wanting souvenirs." Sora said with a grin. He sat down beside Riku and dug in his pack, pulling out a little brown box wrapped in plain paper and tied with string. He offered it to her. "You might want to open it outside."

Yuffie took it with a confused but pleased expression. She lifted it up to her ear and gave it a little shake. "Why? What is it?"

"Well, considering the last time we brought you something back, you went nuts with excitement and it took us hours to put Aerith's furniture back in the right spots."

"Oh, right." Grinning, Yuffie headed toward the door. She opened it, paused, and turned back to look at Sora and Riku. "Since you're here, you can help Aerith sort mail." Then she promptly jumped out of the door, making odd noises as she started tearing at the wrapping.

"Did she just squeal?" Riku asked, staring at the closed door like it was going to fly open and Yuffie was going to launch herself at him to hug him to death, or something of that nature.

Sora laughed. "Probably. I didn't think she'd like the shuriken that much."

"That girl loves weapons more than she likes people."

"That's not true. She also likes sneaking around and spying on people when she thinks they're not paying attention."

Riku grunted. He leaned his head back against the chair's back and closed his eyes.

"You could go upstairs and take a nap, you know." Sora said quietly as he studied the piles of envelopes before him.

"I could, but I don't want to."

"Sleeping in the chair is going to be hell on your neck."

"I'm not sleeping. I'm just resting my eyes."

Sora choked on a laugh. "Where have I heard that before?"

Riku's silence was about as close to a 'shut up' as Sora was about to get. None of them had gotten much rest during their outing. After they had left Twilight Town, Sora suggested that they try the Coliseum to see if anyone there had heard any news. Hercules and Phil hadn't heard anything about Kaoru or anyone matching his description. Sephiroth, after a lengthy battle with Sora _and_ Riku, mentioned something about the Brotherhood moving in Ivalice, which was news he'd gotten from two new-comers to the Coliseum, a boy and a girl by the name of Vaan and Penelo. They claimed they were sky-pirates, but as far as Sora could tell, they weren't very good at being pirates. Still, they talked to Vaan and Penelo, then headed to Ivalice themselves, where they discovered the Brotherhood trying to reignite the war between Rozarria and Archadia, which would in turn destroy the small kingdom of Dalmasca, which would be caught in between.

So they had helped Queen Ashe reestablish communication with many of her allies, and one of her allies in particular, the Emperor Larsa of Archadia, and together put a stop to the Brotherhood's plans. They had learned that the Brotherhood had been trying to gather Mist to power machinery that they had squirreled away somewhere, but they hadn't been able to learn where. The Brotherhood members that they'd managed to capture refused to talk after revealing that much, and had attacked Sora, Ashe, and Larsa while their backs had been turned. Sora had managed to dispatch two of them, and Kairi had intercepted and defeated the third. Riku, who had been outside with Basch, had been attacked by a fourth Brotherhood member pretending to be an Archadian guard, and together he and Basch had put the imposter down.

After that, they had gone to Eos where they had helped Noctis and his friends deal with a Daemon surge, and once that had been taken care of, they had made their way to Disney Castle, only to find it under siege by Heartless. In all, their time away had been filled with nothing but fighting, and they were really, really looking forward to a break.

"Riku?"

"Nn."

"Go upstairs."

"Aerith is bringing lunch soon."

Sora shook his head and chuckled softly. Riku would never admit that he was exhausted, nor that he was taking a nap, if he was in the same room as Sora. It was a protective thing, Sora had discovered. Darkness tended to follow Light around and remain at the edges until the Light needed it. So as much as Riku enjoyed the lone wolf at times, whenever Sora was around, he was always right behind him. Sora could say the same for Kairi, because Riku often hovered over her without actually seeming like he was hovering. Sora was guilty of that too, but Kairi was used to him being around her, so she didn't complain much about it.

Figuring he might as well make himself useful, and let Riku take his nap, Sora began to sort the mail. He started separate piles for Leon and Cloud, bills, Cid, and miscellaneous letters to be delivered elsewhere, like the letters the Princesses wrote to each other on occasion. As he continued sorting through the envelopes, he came across one near the bottom of the pile that had his name on it. It wasn't unusual. People from all over wrote him letters all the time. They were fan letters or pleas for help with small, insignificant problems. Not that Sora wanted to belittle their problems as insignificant, but they weren't problems that could be solved with a Keyblade. But this one seemed different. The envelope was plain white, with only his name and the words 'urgent' and 'top secret' scrawled on the front. He didn't recognize the handwriting, but he'd never gotten a letter with the word 'urgent' on it either.

He was distracted by Kairi's return. He looked up as she tromped down the stairs, still using a towel to dry her hair. At the same time, Aerith exited the kitchen holding a tray filled with plates of cucumber sandwiches and tall glasses of cold tea. Riku stirred, and opened his eyes to refocus on Sora and Kairi. He stood up and moved to help Aerith bring the tray to the table. Kairi came to stand beside Sora, looking over the mail before she looked toward Sora's hand.

"Hey," she said, "that's from Olette."

Sora blinked. "Olette? Why would she send me a letter?"

"I don't know. Open it."

Sora looked at Riku, who lifted an elegant eyebrow as if to say 'why are you asking me?'. Sora shrugged, slid his finger under the seal Olette had placed on the back of the letter, and opened it. He found several pages of notebook paper inside, all written in Olette's hand. He skimmed the writing of the first page, but found nothing of interest. It was the second page that caught his attention.

"What is it?" Riku asked, looking over Sora's shoulder. Kairi peered over Sora's other shoulder, frowning slightly.

"Right after we left, Kaoru showed up." Sora said. "Looks like he wasn't alone. He had two other people with him - a boy named Kai, and a girl named Rinally. According to Olette, Kai's a Keyblade wielder too, and Kaoru's complete opposite. Rinally seems to be a sorceress."

"How could Kai have a Keyblade?" Kairi asked.

"We don't really know how the Keyblades work, except that they can be passed down from one wielder to another through ritual. That's how Riku got his Keyblade originally, and me too, since I kept Ventus's heart safe inside me." Sora frowned. "You got yours because you met Aqua, but you were only able to really use it after Riku gave it to you."

"So it's completely conceivable that, because Kai met Kaoru, he was able to acquire a Keyblade?" Aerith asked.

"Yeah. But we don't know what kind of Keyblade Kaoru has." Sora pointed out. "He was only four when we met him."

"What do you mean, what kind of Keyblade?" Aerith canted her head to one side. "I thought all the Keyblades are the same?"

Riku shook his head. "Keyblades are incredibly varied, not just in the affinities they have, but also in how they're created. The six Keyblades we have here in Radiant Garden right now are forged Keyblades. They're created from the powers of Light and Darkness and shaped with their wielder's will. My Way to Dawn Keyblade is like that, but Sora's Kingdom Key can take on a number of forms if he attaches certain keychains to it."

"And my Destiny's Embrace is the same way, except it's stronger in Light." Kairi explained.

"But the other form of Keyblades are ones made directly from the heart." Sora added. "It takes a strong heart to be able to wield that kind of Keyblade, and they're strictly a single affinity. Whereas Riku's and mine can take on an aspect of Light _and_ Darkness, the ones from the heart are _only_ Light _or_ Darkness."

Aerith hummed. "So you're saying that if this boy Kaoru and his friend Kai have Keyblades, then they're not the forged type, but the ones created directly from their hearts?"

"Exactly. Which makes them both very dangerous and very vulnerable."

Aerith looked at Riku, startled. "What do you mean?"

"If any one of us lose our Keyblade, we can keep fighting and summon it back." Riku held out his hand and in it appeared Way to Dawn. He headed around the table and across the room, where he set the Keyblade gently against the wall. Then he returned to Sora's side and held out his hand again. Aerith let out a soft gasp as the Keyblade vanished from where Riku had placed it, and reappeared in his hand. "If the Keyblade gets destroyed, we can reforge them."

"They regenerate anyway after enough time has passed," Sora said, "but that only applies to the forged type of Keyblades. That's why they're the most common. They're only as powerful as their wielders."

"The ones made directly from the heart, though, not only take strength from their wielder, but from their element as well. But if those Keyblades are destroyed..." Kairi trailed off. She looked at Olette's letter. "If those Keyblades are destroyed, so are their wielders."

Aerith's eyes widened. "You mean, they die?"

"The Keyblades are manifestations of their wielder's hearts. Destroy the Keyblade, destroy the heart."

"That's terrible! And you think those boys have that kind of Keyblade?"

Sora shrugged. "Olette describes them here, and based on what she says, it makes me think both Kaoru and Kai have this rare type. I doubt they know it themselves, though."

Riku folded his arms over his chest. "What should we do? This letter is probably days old already. We can't expect them to still be in Twilight Town."

"I doubt they are."

"Do you think we could pick up their trail?" Kairi asked.

Sora shook his head. "Doubt that. They ended up in Twilight Town after we left. Stands to reason they probably headed somewhere else as soon as they found what they were supposed to do there."

"So what do we do?"

Sora was quiet for a little while. He re-read Olette's letter, then set the papers down on the table and spread them out under his hands. He leaned his weight forward, frowning. He could feel Riku's eyes on him, and Kairi's, and knew they were expecting him to make a decision. Instinct raged at him to rush out right now and find Kaoru's group to protect them, but he didn't think that was the best course. It seemed that the three of them had survived just fine on their own so far. There had to be a reason why Kaoru's path had yet to intersect with Sora's, and Sora wasn't sure why. Still...

"We have to trust them to take care of themselves right now." Sora said at last. "They're following their own path, just as we are. I've got a feeling that when all the Keyblades gather in one place, it's going to be the final showdown. The longer we stay separated, maybe the longer we have to find a way to make sure we survive whatever's coming."

No one retorted. Sora lifted his head to look at both Kairi and Riku. Riku's silver head dipped in a slight nod. "They'll make it here." he said at last. "They have to."

"Yeah," Sora agreed quietly. "I just hope they make it here in one piece."


	48. Chapter 48

Forty-Seven - Atlantica

They decided to spend one more day with Tifa and her friends in the Seventh Heaven, preparing themselves for the next step of their journey. Tifa and Barret drove them back out to the outskirts of Edge, where they stood by the truck and watched as Kai opened a new portal to the Paths of Darkness. Kaoru turned back to wave at Tifa, who returned the wave with a grin, then followed his friends into the World Between Worlds.

"I wonder where we're going to end up next." Rinally said, her hands folded behind her head as she trailed behind Kai. He was currently in the lead, with Kaoru bringing up the rear. "I hope it's nice."

"Like tropical nice or like, giant monsters aren't trying to eat our faces nice?" Kaoru asked with a smile.

"Definitely tropical nice. Although, I'll settle for giant monsters not eating our faces."

"Wherever we end up," Kai said, "we'd better be ready."

Rin jerked her thumb at the backpack she was carrying. "I think we're set. Elena gave me more mana potions, and Marlene and Denzel gave us some healing potions. Tifa made sure we had enough food to last us an entire lifetime."

Kai looked back at her with a tiny smile. "I wasn't thinking about supplies, but, noted."

Kaoru laughed, and even Rinally grinned widely. It felt good to be happy, considering everything they had just gone through. Kaoru hadn't forgotten Haiku's death, or that he and Kai had killed her, but after talking with Tifa, Vincent, Reeve, Rufus, and everyone else about it, it didn't sting as much. He didn't like the idea of killing, but he knew it was going to be necessary in the fights they would face in the future. If he didn't want to die, then he would have to make sure that it was his enemy who did. Even if that enemy was Hiromu.

They traveled along with softly glowing path in almost silence, speaking in whispers if they had to talk. It wasn't so much that they were afraid of attracting the attention of the denizens of the World Between Worlds, but that this place was so quiet already and there was a tranquil sort of peace in that. Eventually, their path came to an end, and Kai opened a new doorway that would take them out of the Paths and to a new world.

"I smell the ocean." Kaoru said.

"Me, too." Rinally said after taking a deep breath.

"What's the ocean?" Kai asked.

"It's a big body of salt water." Kaoru explained. "It usually covers a decent portion of the world, and has all kinds of creatures living in it. I used to go to the beach all the time when I was little."

"The Sky Islands were above a great big ocean that covered our entire world." Rinally said. "People would sail down from the Islands and fish or hunt for coral. It was a big part of our industry and tourism."

Kai still looked confused. Intellectually, he understood what they were saying, but he still couldn't visualize such a thing. He looked toward the portal, which reflected a night sky filled with thousands of stars, but showed nothing of the ocean. "Well, I guess there's a first time for everything."

He started through, followed by Kaoru and Rinally, who was saying, "I wouldn't mind relaxing on a beach for on- _aaahhh!_ "

Kaoru echoed Rinally's cry of shock and surprise and fear as they exited through the portal into thin air. All three of them plummeted down, down, down, until they hit the surface of the dark ocean and sank beneath the waves. Kaoru fought not to suck in a lungful of salt water as he tried to swim to the surface. He wasn't sure how far he had sunk, or how far it was to the surface. He didn't dare open his eyes, knowing from experience how much they would smart and sting because of the salt. He couldn't even tell where Rinally and Kai were, but he hoped they were heading toward the surface as well. He reached and reached, but he could only feel water against his skin, and his lungs were beginning to burn. If he didn't reach the surface soon, he'd drown.

He kicked his legs as hard as he could, fighting for every inch and clawing his way through the heavy water, but to no avail. His chest was a single focus of pain, and then he couldn't hold his breath any longer. All the air in his lungs exploded out of his mouth in a rush of bubbles and water rushed in.

And he could breathe.

Kaoru opened his eyes, startled at the fact he was breathing _underwater_. He was startled then to find that his eyes didn't burn at all from the touch of the water, and he could actually see through the starlit water as if he were on land. Then he looked down at his legs.

Well.

Tail.

His legs had fused together to form a silvery-green tail with a wide fin at the end. He sank a little as he stilled in his surprise, then kicked his tail and felt himself rise. There was no sign of his shoes or his pants, but he still wore his blue headphones, his hooded jacket, and his shirt. He spun around, marveling at how easy he could glide through the water, how he could breathe even though he was certain it was water flowing into his lungs rather than oxygen, and how he could see perfectly even though he knew it wasn't possible.

 _This is just like what happened in Halloween Town. The world changed our clothes so that we could fit in. This world must have done the same thing, except it changed our bodies so that we could survive in this underwater world._

He looked around him, trying to spot Kai and Rinally. He could feel Kai somewhere below him, so he angled his body downward and dove deep, trying to find his friend. As he slipped through the water, shapes began to make themselves clear to him. He could see the rippled sands of the ocean's floor, the patches of sea grass growing here and there, along with huge boulders and clumps of coral. Fish swam by, startled by his approach. He spotted then a massive shipwreck, full of holes and covered in barnacles and sea plants, and he could see a figure floating just outside one of the holes. It seemed to be arguing with the ship, and Kaoru realized someone else must be inside the shipwreck, hiding or arguing back.

As Kaoru approached, Kai turned to look up at him, his red eyebrows shooting upward as he saw Kaoru's changed appearance. Kaoru stared at Kai as well. Like Kaoru, the redhead's legs had fused together into a black shark's tail, but unlike Kaoru, Kai was bare-chested. All he wore was his armor on his left arm and a dark violet and gold sash around his waist in place of a belt.

"Why do you get to keep your clothes?" Kai asked as Kaoru swam close.

Kaoru shrugged. "I don't know. But from where I'm swimming, I don't mind your ensemble."

Kai scowled, but Kaoru could tell he was pleased with the comment. "Well, I guess I don't mind looking at your tail either."

"If you two are done making out, maybe you can help me!"

Kai rolled his eyes and jerked his thumb toward the shipwreck. "She's been hiding in there ever since we realized we weren't drowning. I keep telling her she can come out, but apparently, Rin's embarrassed by whatever she turned into."

Kaoru frowned and swam closer to the hole in the ship's hull. "Come on, Rinally. It can't be that bad. What, do you have tentacles instead of a tail?"

"No."

"So what's the problem? Are you in another tiny skirt?"

"No!"

Kaoru pulled himself half into the hole and looked around for Rinally. He spotted her in the shadows of the ship, her back half-turned to him so that the pale skin of her shoulder was the only bit of her that was illuminated. He couldn't quite figure out what was making her so upset. She had a normal-looking tail, in the same shape and form as Kaoru's, only with the same sort of black color as Kai's, with little silver lines shot through in whirling designs. Her waist was ornamented by a beautiful seashell belt, which had several pouches on it. He saw the pale expanse of her stomach, which wasn't unusual, because Rin usually wore a grey tank-top that didn't really do much to hide her belly if her arms pulled up far enough, but as his eyes continued to travel upwards, he realized what exactly was going on.

"Rin?" Kaoru ventured. "Are you naked?"

"No!" she shouted, almost hysterical. But his question got her to turn to face him, and in her anger or hysterics, she completely forgot what her problem apparently was.

And her problem, it seemed, was that her only clothing - besides the seashell belt - was a bikini top made of two clamshells.

Kaoru felt his cheeks warm. "Oh."

"Oh? Oh, he says!" Rin shrieked. Then she realized where he was staring and shrieked again before wrapping her arms over her chest to hide her seashell bra. "This isn't fair! First the lolita skirt and now this?!"

"What is it?" Kai asked from behind Kaoru.

Kaoru leaned out of the hole and looked at Kai. "She's only wearing a bikini made out of shells."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

Kai stared for a while. Then he turned to the hole. "Stop being stupid, Rin! What does it matter if you're wearing only a bikini?"

"It matters to me!" Rin yelled from inside the shipwreck.

"It doesn't matter to us!" Kai yelled back.

"That's because you'd rather stare at Kaoru's ass than my boobs, but that's not the point!"

"So what's the point?" Kai asked, exasperated. "This is stupid, Rin. We're wasting time with this prissy crap."

Rinally made a frustrated noise. "This isn't exactly how I want to look going around meeting people of this world!"

"Oh, come _on_ , it's not like you've got anything worth looking at anyway."

Kaoru quickly jerked to one side to avoid the rock that suddenly sailed through the portal and came dangerously close to smacking Kai in the face. He wondered if Kai looked terrified or pissed and decided on the latter. Before Kai could swim into the shipwreck and pull Rinally out by her arm or her hair, Kaoru caught his wrist and shrugged out of his jacket, pushing it through the opening toward Rinally.

"Here, Rin. Put that on."

"Thank you, Kaoru. It's nice to know at least _one_ of you is sensitive!"

Kai glowered at the shipwreck before turning his gaze to Kaoru. "Why do you indulge her like that?"

"Because she knows Thundaga and we're in water."

Clearly Kai hadn't considered that, because he suddenly became thoughtful and eyed the shipwreck with a healthier respect for the volatile personality that lurked within it. But he didn't apologize to her when Rinally finally emerged from the ship, wearing Kaoru's jacket fully zipped up to cover herself. She glowered at Kai, who glowered back at her, but refrained from saying anything.

Kaoru looked at Rinally and asked, "Better?"

"I guess." Rin replied grumpily. "I can't believe I always get the short end of the stick with these kinds of worlds. Is it because I'm a girl?"

"Probably," Kaoru answered honestly, earning Rin's hot glare. "I mean, the world may be sentient enough to call for a Keyblade user to help, and to change our appearances so we fit in, but I doubt it takes into consideration the personalities of the people coming to it."

Rin's glare lessened and she blew out a sigh. "I guess. I hate bikinis." She whirled on Kai and shoved a finger in his face, and Kaoru wondered if Rin knew how close her finger was to Kai's teeth. "Say one _word_ and I will _kill_ you."

Kai held up his hands in surrender. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Look, can we go now? We ought to explore this world some, and see if we can find why we were called here. Especially since we aren't in danger of drowning anymore."

"If we swim around aimlessly, we could get even more lost than we already are." Rin pointed out. "Can you guys sense anything?"

Kaoru closed his eyes and tried to quiet his mind enough to focus. Slowly, he turned in a circle, trying to pinpoint a direction to travel that felt right. Except he couldn't feel a thing. There was nothing making itself known to him, whereas before, he could just sense where he was supposed to go because it just felt like where he was needed. So he opened his eyes and looked toward Kai, who had done the same thing as Kaoru. When Kai's eyes opened this time, instead of being emerald, they were his Heartless eyes. It took some time for the gold and black to bleed into green and white, which made Kaoru worry.

"There's a huge presence of Darkness here." Kai said at last, looking at Kaoru as if to reassure him that he was fine. "But I can't tell if it's evil or if it just is."

"I guess we could still check it out." Rinally ventured.

"We might as well," said Kaoru. "We're here for a reason. Maybe it isn't to protect the Light this time, but Darkness."

The three teenagers stared at each other for a moment, then Kai began to swim in the direction he'd felt the huge presence of Darkness, leading the way toward their next adventure.


	49. Chapter 49

Forty-Eight - Atlantica

The part of the sea that they found themselves in was barren of anything that remotely looked like it might belong to the Light. There was very little starlight that reached here, but despite that, they could see the outlines of sunken ships and sea rocks that jutted out of the ground like a monster's sharp teeth. Then, almost in the center of the wreckage, appeared a huge chunk of ice that looked incredibly menacing for something that should be so benign. It was eerily quiet as well. It was the kind of silence that occurred just before a violent storm, Kaoru decided. It didn't bode well, in his opinion, but he wasn't about to suggest leaving. They needed to find out what Kai was sensing, and they needed to find out if this particular Darkness was what they were here to defeat or protect.

"I think there's someone in there," Rinally whispered, allowing herself to sink a little more as she grew closer to the sunken iceberg.

"Whoever it is, they're alive." Kai said, moving to place a hand on the ice. "This is the source of the Darkness."

Kaoru swam around the iceberg, trying to get a clearer picture of who - or what - was trapped within the ice. It looked like a octopus or a squid with a woman's upper half. He trailed his hand along the ice, able to feel a faint trembling in his fingertips. It was the pulse of life, but very faint. He wasn't surprised, considering Kai had been the only one to sense this place. He rejoined Kai and Rinally, his eyes still on the person within the ice. "I have a bad feeling about this," he said at last.

Kai frowned slightly. "Yeah, me too."

"Bad how?" Rin asked.

"Light and Darkness are neither evil nor good, they just are. And they seek a balance." Kai started. He paused, as if gathering his thoughts. "If Light becomes too powerful, then Darkness seeks to find a way to lessen its power. Same if Darkness becomes too powerful."

"So why do you guys have a bad feeling about this?"

"Because we don't know if this person is here for a reason or if they're an innocent victim. We have no way of knowing what will happen if we free them, or if we even ought to free them."

"And if we free them," Kaoru added, "we'll be responsible for any damage they do. Plus, we may have to imprison them again, or outright kill them."

"So you guys have to decide if it's going to be worth the trouble."

"Yeah."

"I say we leave it." Rin said after a beat of silence. "I think this is here for a reason, and we should find out more about it before we go around freeing strange people from ice prisons."

Kaoru looked at Kai. "I agree with Rin, but it's your call. You're the one who sensed it, and in all the worlds we've been to, we've never had Darkness be the one in need."

Kai was quiet for a long while. He was carefully thinking about the situation, about Kaoru's words, and Rin's, and he was considering all the different consequences of releasing a denizen of Darkness that could, potentially, be a hazard to the world. But there was a reason why they ended up on this world, and if it had to do with this chunk of ice and the Darkness it exuded, then who was he to argue with the obvious? And yet... Kai turned his attention to the squid woman encased in the crystalline ice. _And yet someone put her in here for a reason. Whether she's good or bad isn't what's in question here; it's_ why _. Why was she put here? What did she do to get put here?_ Kai turned that thought over in his mind again and again. He couldn't figure out an answer for 'why'.

"If this is the reason why we're here," Kai began slowly, "we can't assume that we were brought here to free this person. We may have been brought here to keep her from escaping. So, yeah, let's go with your plan, Rinally. Let's see if we can find some kind of civilization and see if they have any answers for us. Then we can decide what to do."

"Well," Rin said, "if we want to find civilization, we ought to head back to the shipwreck and see if maybe we can communicate with the creatures there. I know it's weird to talk to a fish, but maybe they can understand us now that we're like this."

"Once we find someone who can give us answers, maybe we'll better understand what we're meant to do here." Kaoru added. "On all the other worlds it was obvious, and it seems obvious here, but maybe it isn't as easy as it seems to be."

Kai couldn't help the warmth that filled his heart at hearing Kaoru's words. The smaller boy had said almost exactly what Kai had been thinking, which just confirmed further for him how connected the two of them were. He wanted to pull Kaoru close to him and hug the blonde tight, but refrained, mostly because he didn't want to give Rinally any more material to daydream with, and because they were likely in a dangerous situation that hadn't exploded yet. But he reached out and rested his hand on Kaoru's arm, giving it a slight squeeze. Kaoru met Kai's eyes with a loving smile, and reached to place his hand on Kai's. Almost as if the two of them touching was the beginning of it, a deep, sonorous boom reverberated through the water.

Rinally shifted closer to her friends, both of whom summoned their Keyblades, and whispered, "What was that?"

"I don't know." Kai growled softly. "But I think we'd better get away from here."

The three of them swam as fast as they could away from the captive woman in ice, then ducked behind a jutting rock. Kaoru peered out from behind their shelter to see what had made that sound. At first, he couldn't see anything, but a glint from above caught his eye. Coming down at a steady speed was a great bell attached to a thick rope. The rope led toward the surface, but Kaoru couldn't see what it was attached to. He was pretty sure it was a ship, but he couldn't understand why a ship would be all the way out here in the middle of nowhere. He continued to watch the giant bell until it stopped, suspended at least twenty feet above the iceberg.

"What is that?" Rinally whispered.

"I've never seen anything like it before," Kai whispered back. He started to tense, gripping Sanctuary tighter. "I don't like this."

Kaoru said nothing, but then he visibly flinched as a pulse of strong Darkness washed across him, making him gasp as if he'd been stung. Kai caught his shoulder, his eyes blazing their Heartless colors. He stared at Kai. "I think we're here to stop that."

Kai ground his teeth. "I think so, too."

"Wait, what are we stopping?"

As if in answer to Rinally's question, bubbles appeared from beneath the giant bell, quickly followed by a handful of people. They were naked from the waist up, wearing only pants. They had primitive diving masks covering their faces, which obscured their identities, but did nothing to obscure the lengths of rope they had in their hands and wrapped around their waists. The three watched as the men dove toward the giant iceberg and began wrapping it in the lengths of rope, forming a huge net. Once that was completed, one of the men swam to the top of the bell and detached a thick hook and its accompanying chain from the bell's rope. Then, he swam to the top of the iceberg and slid the hook under the ropes, securing it there. Then he yanked on the chain as hard as he could. Minutes later, the iceberg shifted out of the silt and began to rise.

Kai snarled. "We can't let it reach the surface!"

Kaoru and Rinally didn't ask why. Whether they innately understood, or whether they simply believed Kai, didn't matter; all that mattered was that they stopped the iceberg from being removed from the ocean.

"I'll go after the chain." Rin said, already moving. Her staff was in her hands. "You two keep those guys off me!"

Kai let out a soft curse but didn't try to stop her. Neither did Kaoru. Together, the two Keyblade wielders rushed out from their hiding place and toward the first of the men. At first, Kaoru hesitated, because if he attacked the hapless human and injured him terribly, then the man would likely drown. But then he saw a flash of Heartless eyes and Kaoru let out a startled cry as the men they had thought to be human suddenly burst into shadowy motes, leaving behind a tentacled Heartless that looked like a cross between a jellyfish and an octopus.

Kai hit the first Heartless with Sanctuary as hard as he could, sending it spiraling into one of its fellows. Kaoru hit a second one with Guardian, ducking under a whiplash of tentacles that sought to remove his head from his shoulders. He looked up as the water suddenly brightened with a surge of lightning, and saw Rinally staving off a group of the jelly-pus Heartless with her Thunder spells. She was frantically working at the chain, but the iceberg was starting to rise faster and faster, and she was going up with it. Kaoru threw Guardian as hard as he could through the water toward one of the jelly-pus Heartless aiming for Rinally's back, then caught the Keyblade on the rebound. He swam around the huge bell and used it to deflect another attack that came at him.

Kai slid through the water as fast as the creature whose tail he currently wore, Sanctuary striking at the jelly-pus Heartless wherever he could. He was trying to get up to Rinally as well, but the Heartless just seemed to keep coming. Besides the masquerading Heartless, more had suddenly appeared, as if drawn by the Darkness the iceberg exuded. Kai could feel it empowering him, giving him more strength and stamina as long as he was near the iceberg. On the surface, it seemed like a boon, but Kai knew the difference between pure Darkness and tainted Darkness, and he was no longer confused about their purpose here now. The iceberg had done much to dilute the Darkness the woman inside was giving off while it had been still. It had been like a fisherman's lure, trying to bring someone, anyone, close to it in order for it to get freed. Now that it was moving, Kai could tell immediately that the woman was tainted, much in the way Secundus had been. The Darkness of the world had been calling out to him not to rescue one of its denizens, but to prevent said denizen from being released.

But how had these Heartless found it? How had these Heartless posed as humans? Kai figured it had the Brotherhood written all over it.

"Kai, look out!"

Kai spun around to see the giant bell racing up toward him. He jerked to one side and grunted as the bell struck the lower half of his tail, sending him spinning through the water. Kaoru flashed by, racing after the iceberg. Kai sucked in a deep breath to force down the pain and raced after Kaoru, catching up to him in time to see the surface of the water quickly approaching. It was still dozens of meters away, but the sharp light of dawn threw into clear relief the giant shadow of a ship.

"We have to catch up to Rin!" Kaoru called, trying to swim faster.

Kai looked ahead of them, where he could see Rin tangled with the chain of the hook. She was clinging tightly to it, her eyes shut tight. Kai's heart began to hammer in his chest as fear rushed through his blood. If she broke the surface, she would be gone, and in this unfamiliar world, he didn't know if they would be able to find her. Not only that, he didn't know what would happen to her if she was captured. He didn't know if the entire ship was crewed by Heartless in a human guise, or if there were real people on the boat who would look at Rinally and her shape and think she would make a great display piece. Then Rin opened her eyes and looked down at Kaoru and Kai, but instead of letting go of the chain, she gave them a thumb's up and clung tighter to the links.

 _We have to trust her._ Kai thought. He caught up to Kaoru and caught his wrist, pulling him to a halt. Kaoru looked at him, incredulous. "She's going with it." Kai explained, hoping Kaoru would understand. "She can't break the chain underwater."

Kaoru looked away from Kai back to Rinally. There was no hiding the worry and fear in his eyes nor in the way his body was so tense. Kai kept a firm hold of Kaoru, though he wasn't sure if it was to prevent the other boy from racing after their friend or for Kai's own need to keep Kaoru close. "Do you think she'll be all right?" Kaoru asked.

Kai nodded. "She's stronger than the two of us. If anyone can make it on their own until we can get to her, it's Rinally."

Kaoru nodded. "I don't want her going alone. We can follow the ship from below."

By the time the two of them started chasing the iceberg, the chain and Rinally had already broken the water's surface. The giant bell had also broken the surface and was beginning to be drawn completely out of the water. Kaoru saw Rinally vanish out of his sight, but when his head broke the surface, he could see her dangling above the iceberg, clinging to the chain as though her life depended on it. Her head snapped up and her attention turned to the deck of the ship. Kaoru watched helplessly beside Kai as the iceberg and Rinally were swung across the deck of the giant galley. The last sight Kaoru had of his best friend was her being shaken off the chain to the deck below. He could hear her voice shouting, but he couldn't hear any replies. The bell was brought aboard and secured, and then Kaoru couldn't hear Rinally anymore.

"Come on." Kai surged toward the ship, cutting through the water seamlessly. Kaoru quickly followed, and the two came alongside the ship, their hands touching the wood beneath the water.

There was nowhere to grip, Kaoru found, but that didn't seem to be Kai's plan. The redhead looked left and right, as if searching for something, then gestured for Kaoru to follow and led the way to the other end of the ship, where the thick chains of the anchor still drifted in the water. Kai caught hold of a link that was thicker than he was, and Kaoru did the same. Then, the anchor started to rise, slowly but surely, dragging them up along with it.

"Do you think she's okay?" Kaoru asked.

"Of course she is. Besides, she looks like a mermaid right now. I doubt they'd want to hurt her."

"I can't believe she just went off on her own like that."

"Why? You did the same thing not too long ago."

Since Kaoru didn't reply, Kai figured he understood the point. The rippling surface of the water was only a few hundred yards above them. Kai's plan was to use the anchor chain to get them into the ship, where they could then hide amongst the giant chains and cargo and free Rin from whatever prison she was put in. Then, they could sabotage the ship, if not outright push the iceberg back into the sea. If they succeeded in that, then Kai decided he would do whatever he could to drag that iceberg to the deepest underwater gorge he could find and drop it in there, where it would sink to the bottom and remain, forgotten. He couldn't explain why, but he was certain that letting the squid-woman out of her icy prison was the worst thing that could happen to this world, and if he, Kaoru, and Rin could prevent it, then they'd be off this world faster than they'd gotten away from any of the previous worlds.

Except as all plans were wont to do, this one was quickly screwed.

Kai heard Kaoru call out a warning, but before he could turn to see what his Light was warning him about, something struck him in the back of the head. His hands all too willingly let go of the anchor chain, and his body listlessly began to sink back toward the ocean floor.

Then, all Kai knew was darkness.


	50. Chapter 50

Forty-Nine - Atlantica

Whatever Rinally had been expecting the people on board the ship to do, it certainly hadn't been to grab her and stuff her into a tank.

Figuring that the people she was about to encounter wouldn't quite appreciate her trying to destroy their chain, Rin had dismissed her witch's staff and had pretended that she had tangled her wrist in the ropes binding the iceberg to the hook and chain being used to drag it out of the water. As soon as the iceberg touched down on the deck, Rin began shouting at the top of her lungs, which drew the attention of several of the men working the pulley system that had been used to hoist the iceberg up. Since untying the iceberg had been their intention anyway, they had "freed" Rinally, but instead of saying anything to her, they had just stared at her until she was certain she was happy to have a tail right now instead of legs, and then they had grabbed her - two men seizing her arms and another her tail - and all but tossed her into a cargo hold that had a deep tank in it.

Rin cautiously swam around the edges of the tank, feeling cold hard steel against her fingers as she brushed them against the walls. It felt odd, considering the outside of the ship was pure wood, but it wasn't too disconcerting. If the technology of this world was starting to advance away from purely wood ships to metal ships, it made sense that at least a giant vessel such as this had metal parts. Yet, Rinally didn't dare let her guard down. The appearance of the Heartless before they had changed into their Heartless forms was definitely a sign of advance planning, and definitely had the Brotherhood written all over it. She hadn't noticed if the jelly-pus Heartless had possessed any black rods, but she doubted it. Nobodies could pose as human beings after all, and if they could do it, why not Heartless? If the Brotherhood was as advanced in their scientific research as they claimed to be, it wasn't so far-fetched that maybe these jelly-pus Heartless were just artificial Heartless that hadn't quite made the cut for the Brotherhood's special army.

She was quite aware that she could destroy the cage she was in right now, along with the hull of the ship, and sink the entire damn thing. But she didn't know if all the crew were those Heartless puppets, or if there were real humans on board. And if there were, how could she justify killing people who were just trying to make a living? Playing devil's advocate, it was entirely possible that the humans on board were just guys doing a job, paid to look the other way, and paid to keep their mouths shut.

 _Or,_ Rinally thought to herself, _they were paid upfront for this job, and whoever's really behind this is going to silence them all upon delivery._

She folded her arms over her chest and frowned. Would the Brotherhood sanction that sort of thing? If they wanted to be seen as heroes after the coming war, then they couldn't afford to piss off the people whose support they wanted. But accidents happened, said a tiny little voice in the back of her mind. So sorry, so sad. It was just an accident.

Rinally shook her head and dropped her arms to grip the hem of her coat. Well, Kaoru's coat. She fingered the material, finding comfort in the gesture. She really hoped his clothes had gained some sort of waterproofing ability, otherwise he wasn't going to have anything to wear when they left this world. Despite that pessimistic thought, Rinally was actually happy that she had something of her friend's that she could claim as her own, at least for the time being. There was a sense of comfort, of safety, in that, and just knowing Kaoru was with her in some way gave her strength. She knew that her two best friends were going to move heaven and earth to find her and get her back, but until they could reach her, she had to do what she needed to do. Which was, first of all, escape somehow, and then figure out how to keep that iceberg frozen, and then figure out who - or what - was behind the iceberg-napping in the first place.

Rinally stopped swimming as she heard chains being dragged along the wood above her head. She focused on that sound, her head angled back as she watched shadows play through the scant light that came through the boards. Then the hatch that covered the tank's opening was pulled back, spilling more sunlight into the tank. Rin threw her hands up over her face to keep herself from being blinded by the sudden light, but she wasn't fast enough to keep her eyes from stinging. Once she was certain she could see again without any impairments, she turned her attention to the open hatch, but didn't move any closer to it. She could see several figures standing above her, all in shadow since their backs were to the sun. She couldn't tell if they were talking or not, but it was clear to her that she was being shown off.

Then the hatch was slammed shut again, and the chains were once more dragged across it. Only then did Rinally approach the hatch, pressing her ear to the wood to see if she could hear anything.

"What do we do with that one?" a man asked. He sounded grumpy, or maybe a little irritated.

"She's one of the merfolk, right? The Queen ain't gonna be happy if we show up with her in our hold."

"Forget the Queen. The _King_ ain't gonna be happy."

"Look, our orders were to just grab the witch in the ice. We did that, right? So what if we got something extra? I'm sure we could sell her and get away before the King and Queen even know what's happened."

There was soft muttering that Rinally couldn't make out, but she was sure it was nothing good. She frowned, certainly not liking the idea of being sold like she was some sort of commodity. But the idea of this mysterious King and Queen intrigued her. Who were these two people that got upset if one of the merfolk, as the man had called her, were captured? Her gut told her they were allies, and if she could reach them, then she could count on their help to not only get her out of this mess, but maybe even aid her in finding Kaoru and Kai, and then helping all three of them put the squid-woman back where she belonged. But in order to meet the King and Queen, Rin would have to behave herself and not try to blow the ship to smithereens to escape. Which also meant that she had to let the iceberg reach its final destination.

"Our employer said-"

"I know what our employer said!" snapped the grumpy voice. "The bastard gave the captain only half of what was promised to fund this little voyage out here, but he didn't tell us that the merfolk be watching that iceberg! When they find out we got one of theirs in our hold, they's gonna come after us."

"If, not when," replied a newer voice, this one also male, but deep with a hint of an accent Rinally couldn't place. "There are places in the kingdom we can put to shore and offload our pretty little miss without none being the wiser. Can't dock at the castle anyways."

"Mister Lorne said we were to meet him in town at the docks. He'd take our ice princess from there, as well as give the captain the other half of the pay. I'm sure we could find a buyer for the mermaid there, too."

 _Lorne?_ Rinally filed the name away for later contemplation. She wondered if it was the name of the Brotherhood member that was on this world. In Midgar, they'd met two Brotherhood members, but had only learned one name: Haiku. She had been killed by Kaoru and Kai when she'd attacked them, but her companion had escaped. Besides Ennio, the Brotherhood's leader, Haiku was the only other name they had learned. She didn't know how big the organization was, nor how many people were actually involved. So far, she could count its members on one hand and not run out of fingers.

"Yeah, but who'd buy the mermaid and keep their yap shut?"

Silence followed that question as the men thought about it for a long while. Then there was a snap, and Rinally imagined one of the men had used their fingers to produce the sound, as sort of a semi-silent 'Aha!'. " _He'd_ buy her."

The way the pronoun was said made Rinally shiver, but she didn't push away from the boards just yet. There were sounds of agreement coming from all the men standing over her watery cage.

"He keeps all sorts of fantastical things and puts them on display for the public eye. The King and Queen wouldn't have a reason to think the mermaid he's got is a real one, considering most of the stuff he touts is pure poppycock."

"Question is, how much will he pay for a real mermaid?"

"Guess we can make an offer of her and find out."

Rinally pushed away from the boards then and allowed her body to sink to the bottom of the cage. She didn't like what the men were discussing, but if she wanted to get information, she had to go along with it. And it wasn't like she couldn't break out when she decided it was time to go. The only thing she wasn't sure of was if her tail would become her legs if she was out of the water for a certain length of time. After all, this world had changed her body to allow her to survive in the ocean, but what if it hadn't intended for her to suddenly find herself on land? She supposed if she had to, she could cast a number of spells on herself that would allow her to survive until she reached the water again, but if she had to do that, she really hoped Kai and Kaoru were nearby, because she didn't know how far she would be able to go without help.

Since there was nothing for her to really do while she was imprisoned, and since the men had obviously moved off to do their work, Rinally tried to amuse herself by making as many plans as she could to deal with any situation she happened to find herself in. She couldn't tell if the ship was moving or not, but she could tell the day was beginning to end as the sun's light began to fade from between the slats of wood covering her watery prison. She didn't know how long she would be trapped down here, but at least she wasn't going to go hungry. One of the pouches on her seashell belt contained what looked like shredded seaweed. One of her favorite foods was seaweed salad, so Rin didn't mind the snack. She ate her supply sparingly, though, because she didn't know how long the trip would be, and she didn't know if her cruise came with complementary meals.

It seemed too soon before the door covering her cage was thrown open and a thickly-bearded man in a tricorn hat leaned over the surface of the water. Cautiously, Rinally swam toward the surface, allowing her head and shoulders to break the water, but coming no closer to the man. Surrounding him were his crew, and she recognized a few of the faces as belonging to the men who'd tossed her down here in the first place. Behind them all, the dark blue crystalline iceberg rose, its captive still within the ice. Rinally shivered as she gazed upon the squid-woman, certain that her eyes were tracking from left to right, and certain that her eyes eventually focused on Rinally herself. Forcing herself to look away from the iceberg, Rinally focused on the man in the tricorn hat, deciding that he was this captain the men had been talking about.

"Easy now, pretty thing." the captain spoke, his voice soothing but greasy, as if he was making an effort to be nice to her. "We be almost to shore now. I expect you to cooperate and behave your little self. If you do, you'll find yourself a decent existence. Understand me?"

Deciding that pretending to be what they thought she was - a denizen of the ocean, frightened of humans and ignorant of their ways - was more beneficial to her right now, Rinally gave the tiniest of nods, doing her best to look afraid.

"Good lass. Don't worry your pretty little head now. Just do what me boys tell you, and you'll be just fine." The captain nodded and turned to his men. "Get her out of there and make sure she's kept nice and comfortable. We don't want her getting scared and hurting herself, now do we?"

Rinally resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The only way she'd hurt herself was if she started a fight she couldn't win anyway. And starting something like that was completely against what she wanted to do right now. So she pretended she trusted these men, just like some poor displaced mermaid might, especially after they had been so nice to her. She let them pull her out of the hold and let them ease her up into a glass tank on a wheeled cart. As soon as she was inside that tank, the men slid a wire mesh grate over the top, making Rinally feel as if she were in a fishbowl, only without the pretty decorations. Then over the whole tank went a thick blanket, which blocked out the light save for a tiny sliver at the bottom of the tank. Rinally could barely see anything through that crack, but she could make out shadows of the men moving around and making the ship ready for docking at port. She dived down closer to the crack, trying to peer beneath the curtain.

She could see the glimmer of the iceberg, but couldn't make out anything more than that. It looked like the iceberg had been loaded onto a wheeled cart as well, and tied down with rope. She didn't know if it had been covered by a blanket like her tank had been, but she was certain that it had to be disguised in some way to prevent people from recognizing what it was.

Rin swam to the top of her cage and ran her fingers along the mesh. It was thin wire but tightly bound, such that she would have to use some drastic force to blow it open. The lock was on the outside of the lid where she couldn't reach it, after all. She settled back in the middle of her tank, just floating and listening and waiting.

She heard the sounds of port even before the men began to cry their warnings. Then it became a mad dash to prepare the ship for its landfall, and Rin found her heart beginning to pound. She wasn't sure if it was with nerves or fear or anticipation, probably a combination of all three. The ship rocked and swayed as the waves slapped against its hull, fighting against the current and the wakes of other ships as it tried to ease into an available dock. Rin knew the next part of her journey was starting when ropes were tied around the outside of her cage, and she was jerked backwards by the sudden forward motion. The water sloshed out of the top of the mesh covering, soaking the blanket somewhat. Rinally pressed a hand against the glass to steady herself, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

She could tell changes in motion and elevation by the way her cage rocked and sloped. She counted in slow seconds how long she was in motion and stopped counting when the cage stopped moving. She figured out by the sounds made by the wheels of the cart when she left the docks and entered the town proper, because the sound the wheels made on wood was different from the sound the wheels made on stone. The only time the motion stopped significantly was when it seemed they had reached their destination. At least, she hoped they had reached their destination, and weren't asking for directions or had stopped for a pint at the local pub. Rin floated in the dimly-lit dark water, trying to avoid making noise. She didn't want her captors to know she was listening for their voices, and she didn't want them to know that she was planning her escape before she even had a chance to try.

Then the wagon started moving again, and the light glowing from the bottom of her watery cage suddenly went dark. Rin fought to keep from panicking, clenching her fists in the material of Kaoru's shirt to keep from freaking out. The wagon continued a few more paces before it finally stopped. Only then did a faint light return beneath the blanket covering her tank, allowing her to see mostly shadows. She didn't hear any voices, but she could hear people moving around her. She heard men grunting and cursing to themselves or each other, but she couldn't see what they were doing. Then, suddenly, her tank lurched and Rinally couldn't help the little cry of shock that escaped her. She pressed her hands against the glass as if that could stabilize her, and she felt her world tilt one way for a handful of minutes before it came back down to rest on its base again. The water sloshed from side to side above her head, soaking the blanket that was keeping her immersed in darkness.

 _They removed the wagon._ Rinally thought to herself. _We're wherever they wanted me to be._

Silence filled the space between the last sound and the next, leaving Rinally wondering if she was alone. She pushed away from the glass and swam carefully from one end of the tank to the other, trying to see if there was anything _to_ see.

"What's this then?"

Rin froze, then swam back to the center of the tank and tried to make herself look as terrified and fragile as she could possibly do. It wasn't that hard, considering her heart was hammering in her chest from anticipation and maybe a little fear. The voice had been rough and deep, with the hint of an accent that made him say his 'th' sounds as d's. Definitely male.

"It's somethin' we be believin' you have an interest in."

That was the captain. Rin made a face.

"Oh, really?" A corner of the blanket covering Rin's tank began to lift, as if the owner of the strangely accented voice was trying to sneak a peek. "What do you have for me this time, Captain?"

"A mermaid."

The cloth dropped quickly. There was a beat of quiet before the man spoke again. "A mermaid? A real one?"

"As real as the air we breathe."

"How did you, ah, acquire her?"

"I'll go into details once we have an accord and I get me money. Me boys put in a lot of effort of keepin' her nice and safe, and they want to be rewarded for their effort."

"I see, I see. Perhaps we can come to an agreement then, Captain. May I?" The corner of the blanket lifted again, this time in askance.

"Go ahead."

Rin braced herself for the sudden shock of light and tried to keep her expression of utter terror on her face and make herself seem as fragile and as weak as she possibly could. She opened her eyes to see the captain of the ship standing there with a few of the strongest of his crew, including the men who had wrangled her in the first place. The only new face was a dark-skinned man standing beside the captain. He had a gold ring piercing his left ear which was attached to a chain that ended in a stud on the man's nose. Thick ringlets of jet black hair were piled upon his head and held in place by a crimson scarf. His eyes were lined with thick black eyeliner, bringing out the color of his sea-glass green eyes. His jaw and chin were dusted with the stubble of a beard shaved a day or so ago. His clothes were incredibly exotic as well, all sashes and voluminous pants that showed off half of a well-muscled chest and bulging biceps. He wore thin reed sandals that clashed with the dark tone of his skin, and his ankles were decorated with silver rings. He wasn't what Rin considered pretty for a man, but he was handsome, and probably did make panties spontaneously combust when he actively tried to make them combust.

"By the gods, she is beautiful!" The man gasped upon beholding Rinally. His hand pressed against the glass, as if he could reach through it and touch her directly. His head snapped around to look at the captain. "How did you get her past the king's guards at the docks?"

The captain smiled, a lazy and greedy thing. "Told 'em we had a special delivery of fish, an' they could take it up with the king an' queen if they delayed us."

"I see." The man looked back toward Rin then, and his tongue darted out from between his lips to wet the skin. "Look at her hair! I've never seen hair like hers. She must be an extraordinary specimen from the deep oceans. I _must_ have her."

The captain approached then and put his hand beside the man's as he leaned on the tank to get into the man's line of sight. "Then I suggest we start negotiating the price for the pretty lass, eh, Master Ibrahim?"

Ibrahim couldn't seem to take his eyes off Rinally long enough to look at the captain, but his lips curled into a smile that actually _did_ frighten Rin, and he said, "Indeed, captain. Indeed."


	51. Chapter 51

Fifty - Atlantica

How long the captain and Ibrahim spent negotiating Rinally didn't know and didn't care. They had left her in the main room of wherever they were, under guard by several of the captain's crew and two of Ibrahim's own men. Those men favored their master in looks and coloring, but they definitely outweighed him by at least three hundred pounds. Their arms were thickly muscled and they casually rested their hands on the hilts of scimitar swords in a way that wasn't really casual at all. The sailors responded in kind, resting their hands on the hilts of their knives or on the hafts of cudgels, but neither group made a move to attack each other. Rinally was left watching both groups try to prove whose was bigger without actually whipping them out to measure, and she was left to study the room.

It was definitely a warehouse of some sort. The walls were all wood panels. Crates were stacked against them, marked with a strange calligraphic language that Rin couldn't understand. She saw rolled up tapestries and carpets, statues made of gold and silver and encrusted with gemstones, paintings and pottery, and all sorts of other things a usual merchant would have to sell. She was probably the only true exotic thing in the warehouse. She turned in the water, trying to get a good 360-degree view of the room. She spotted a door at the far end, a wide thing that no doubt the wagon had passed through to get here. There was probably another door in the room where Ibrahim and the captain were right now. It either likely led to the street, or it led to Ibrahim's shop. Either way, it was a risky endeavor to try to escape right now. There were too many eyes on her, and too many people might be expecting a double-cross. Get the money now, come back later to steal the mermaid. Rin made a face and turned slowly in the water again so she could see her captors and bodyguards. They weren't paying attention to her. Why would they? It wasn't like she could escape them, after all.

 _Oh, they think I'm so helpless, don't they?_ Rinally bit her cheek to keep from smiling at their stupidity. They didn't know she was actually a human, that she was best friends with not one but _two_ Keyblade wielders, and that she was a witch. Any time she wanted, she could cast a spell and get herself out of the tank. But she had to be careful when she chose to act, because she didn't know if her tail would change back into legs or if she would be fast enough to keep those guards off her long enough for the transformation to take place. It would be easier if she just pretended and bided her time and waited for an opportunity to arise. And one would come, if she was just patient enough.

 _I wonder what Kaoru and Kai are doing. The last I saw of them, they were chasing me and then..._ Rin looked toward the ceiling of the warehouse, studying the thick beams and the cobwebs in the corners. _I wonder if they made it onto the ship. If they did, they'll be here to rescue me soon. But what if they didn't make it? What if I'm on my own? How long do I wait before I decide to act?_

She recalled what Kai had said to her when they were in Midgar, how she was the strongest of the three and that how it was her strength that allowed him and Kaoru to keep fighting. Kai and Kaoru fought down on the front lines, in the thick of things, and trusted her to keep them alive and to watch their backs. They also trusted her to watch out for herself and to act as she thought was best. They would always move to protect her, but she would have to move to protect herself first. She looked down at her tail, with its swirls of black and silver, and smiled. She might be in their shadow, but she wasn't overshadowed by them. Which meant that, even if they _were_ here to attempt to rescue her, she could rescue herself first and meet them halfway.

Rin closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to relax herself enough to be able to center herself. It would be a long time before she even was able to make a move, so she had to control her temper and make sure impatience didn't get the better of her. She felt her senses reach out, as they sometimes did when she prepared to cast a long and complex spell and needed to find extra energy from the world, and felt something brush against her consciousness. Rinally opened her eyes, staring out through the glass of her tank toward the guards and the sailors, and tried to find that something again. It had felt like Kaoru, but it was too weak, too far away, for her to be sure. She was certain, though, that she was definitely alone here. Something must have happened to her friends to keep them from getting to her.

Her heart fluttered in her chest and she pushed back from the front of the glass to rest against the opposite side. One of her guards glanced at her then, but he didn't give her more than a cursory once-over. To him, she must've just been getting a little restless. Which she was, but not for the reasons he probably thought. Kaoru and Kai were in trouble, and she wasn't around to help them. Each of them were going to be responsible for themselves, but that didn't stop Rin from believing she had to reach her friends soon, or something terrible was going to happen.

The captain's voice soon caught Rin's attention, and soon he was in her line of sight, followed by a grinning Ibrahim. The captain was carrying a brown cloth sack no doubt filled with gold. The two men shook hands, and then the captain whistled to his men, signaling them to leave the warehouse. With one last look toward Ibrahim's guards, the sailors slipped out the door, followed by the captain. Rin watched them go, knowing that their next delivery was to the mysterious Lorne. If she wanted to find out what they were going to do with the squid-woman in the ice, and who Lorne was, she was going to have to find a way to escape, and soon.

A tapping on the glass brought her attention to Ibrahim. The man was standing flanked by his two guards, with his hands pressed against the glass of her tank. Feigning fear and trepidation, Rinally slowly moved closer to Ibrahim's image. She eventually sidled close enough to the surface of the glass where she could see him clearly and gingerly placed her hand on the glass, opposite his. It was a move she did on purpose, hoping to disarm him even more and help perpetuate the illusion that she was merely a scared mer-girl in a strange world, and that if she trusted this stranger, she might be able to go home.

"Aren't you a beautiful one? Do you understand me, mermaid?" Ibrahim asked, his voice kind and gentle.

Rin debated with herself for a moment about lying, but she had a feeling that the captain had likely told Ibrahim that she understood their language. It was easier to go with the truth, so she nodded but said nothing.

"Excellent." Ibrahim pushed back from the glass. "I've paid a great deal for you, little miss. This is gold you'll earn back for me. I'm a purveyor of things of mystery and shock and awe for the public, you see. Master Ibrahim's Collection of Strange Creatures and Magical Beings. Lucky for me the king and queen of this lovely little nation have already been, inspected, found my strange creatures and magical beings to be, well, fake. When they hear I've a mermaid in my collection now, they'll assume the same thing now won't they? That I've acquired a pretty girl to sit in a tank and pretend to be a mermaid. They'll never suspect that you're quite the real thing."

Rinally didn't react and was proud of herself for it. She knew what being on display meant for her. People would pay good money to see a mermaid, whether they believed she was real or fake. Ibrahim wanted her to dazzle. It was also a warning. If the king and queen - both of whom, if Rin could believe the captain, got quite upset if a mer-person was harmed - thought she was just a normal girl being paid by Ibrahim to wear a fake tail and sit in a tank of water, then they wouldn't mount a rescue operation. She wasn't getting out of here. So Ibrahim believed, anyway, and Rin wasn't going to disillusion him of that fact.

"Don't worry, though, my fine lady. I will take good care of you. When you're not performing for me, you'll be treated like a queen. The finest foods. The finest of jewelry. The finest of water to swim in, and the largest of pools to live in." Ibrahim smiled widely, proudly. "But you'll have to wait until tonight to see your new home. In daylight, it's too risky for me to move you. Everyone pays attention when Ibrahim goes through town, and many will be curious as to what I possess. Plus, I must prepare for your grand entrance! And a good story."

Rin watched him as he pushed away from her tank and spoke quickly to her guards. The two men saluted their boss and left the warehouse. Ibrahim started for the other door, the one he'd used earlier, then paused and looked back at her. "I will bring you something delicious to eat, pretty one. Behave yourself for now."

Rin waited until Ibrahim had gone to finally move. She carefully swam up to the top of her tank, to where the lid with the fine mesh grate still sat. With the blanket gone, she could fit her fingers through the little holes in the wire, but she couldn't reach the lock. She carefully pointed her finger toward the lock and summoned just a little bit of her power. Then a thought came to Rinally. What if this was a trick? What if Ibrahim was waiting for her to try something, and would fall upon her quickly if she tried to escape. He struck her as that kind of person, to be one thing to someone's face but something else in the shadows. So she held back her power, released the mesh, and turned gracefully downward to the bottom of the tank. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ibrahim's smiling face in the shadows, briefly illuminated by the light of an opening door. She pretended not to notice him, and continued to swim languidly in her small tank, wondering if he had any other spies in place to warn him of any attempt to escape she might make.

 _Well,_ Rin thought to herself, _this is going to be harder than I thought. I might actually have to wait until they move me to wherever he wants me to be to try to escape. Except that might make it all the more difficult to actually escape._

She slowly started moving upwards in her tank again and did another backbend to send her back down. When she saw no movement this time, she decided to get a little bolder. The third time she went for the top of the tank, she clung to the metal lid. She held the position, waiting, then sunk back down. No one appeared to reprimand her, and she didn't see any movement. As much as she wanted to believe it, she couldn't assure herself that she was alone in the warehouse, but she had to get out of here. She focused on the lock again. The powerful Blizzaga spell, concentrated on such a tiny area of the lock, froze the metal to a brittle state. With just a light push on the grate, the lock snapped off and tumbled to the ground. The lid was quick to follow, though Rin caught its descent with an Float spell to soften its landing and prevent it from making noise. Her fingers curled over the edge of the glass and she pulled herself up as far as she could go. No alarm was raised and no one came to stop her. It was a long way down, but Rin was ready for it. A whispery Aero spell gently lowered Rin to the floor. She sat there for a minute, staring at her tail and waiting for it to change into legs.

Something rattled at the far end of the warehouse.

Rin froze, her staff materializing in her hands. She wasn't going to get put back in that tank, and so she would blast her way out if she needed to. But the noise wasn't coming from Ibrahim's direction, but closer to the door where the guards had gone. Rin didn't dare to call out, for fear her voice would draw unwanted attention. She looked at her tail, thinking, _Come on. Come on! Change already!_ and then looked toward where the noise was coming from.

A dark head appeared from behind a crate that had been pushed aside. With effort, the owner of that dark head hauled herself into the warehouse and then ducked out of sight. Rinally could see the shadows of people rushing by in the shaft of light that the crate allowed into the warehouse. The girl waited until the shadows stopped moving and the light remained unbroken to move, and when she turned and spotted Rinally sitting there, her blue eyes grew wide and round and her mouth formed a small 'o' of surprise.

Rin quickly put her finger to her lips in a sign for silence. The girl, only twelve at the most, quickly nodded her head. It seemed the girl was used to such gestures, or she understood what Rin was trying to do. The girl wore pants and boots and a tunic that looked like it was permanently borrowed from her father's closet. Clearly, it seemed she was wearing her "adventuring" outfit. Rin's sister had plenty of those outfits, especially when she found out Rinally was going somewhere "cool" and wanted to tag along. A pang of hurt made Rin's chest hurt. That girl across from her reminded her strongly of her little sister, aside from the girl's coloring. Fighting down the emotion, Rin gestured for the girl to come closer but to be as quiet as possible. The girl tip-toed closer, carefully measuring her steps for the utmost stealth.

"Hi," Rin whispered as soon as the girl crouched beside her.

"Hi," the girl responded. Her eyes trailed to Rin's tail, then back up to Rin's face. "Are you really a mermaid?"

"Not really." Rin said. "I'm really a human, but magic turned me into a mermaid. I was separated from my friends in the ocean, and I was brought here."

The girl nodded as if she'd expected Rin's answer. "Mama didn't think I was listening, but I was. My grandfather came to visit my mama the other day and told her that some strangers had come to the ocean. He said that they had helped some humans take something that shouldn't have been found and brought it here."

 _Is she talking about the lady in the iceberg?_ "Do you know what that something is?" Rin asked.

The girl's lips thinned and her expression became secretive. Rin had seen its like before, when her sister had had a secret that she didn't want to tell but knew she couldn't keep it for long. Finally, the girl nodded. "I know."

"Then you know that that something is a really bad thing."

The girl looked surprised. "I know. But... how did you know?"

"I was sent here with my two friends to stop something bad from happening. We found that iceberg and happened to be there when the men came to take it away. We tried to stop it. I decided to get myself captured so I could find out what the bad guys want with that iceberg, but..." Rinally looked at her tail, "...it doesn't seem like this wants to become legs again."

"It takes a little bit of time for the magic to wear off by itself." The girl leaned forward and reached to place her hand on where Rin's knees would be. "But maybe I can..."

Rin felt a small pulse of power come from the girl beside her. It was insignificant compared to with what Rin herself could do, but it was a different kind of power. It was like calling to like. Rin watched in awe as her black and silver scales began to ripple. The scales of her tail began to shiver and shake and smooth into skin as her tail began to separate into two pale legs. Her feet were the last to form, complete with her shoes. Even her skirt had reappeared, as had her tank top and her brown arm cover. All of the decorations she'd had as a mermaid disappeared.

"Amazing!" Rin whispered, touching the smooth skin of her legs. "How did you do that?"

The girl smiled. "Well, because my mama is-"

A crash came from behind them. Rin and the girl looked up, startled, at the sight of Ibrahim standing in a doorway, a silver tray on the ground at his feet. He looked shocked at the sight of the two of them, and then his shock changed to anger. Rin knew then it was time to run.

Without a word to the girl, Rin rolled upright to her feet and pulled the girl with her. At the same time, Ibrahim yelled for his guards and rushed after them himself. The girl ran for the hole she'd used to enter into the warehouse in the first place and started to go through. Rinally knew she wouldn't make it through in time to stop Ibrahim and his guards from grabbing them, so she planted herself between the girl and their escape route, lifted her staff, pointed it at all three men and shouted, "Blizzara!"

Ice crystals formed in the air around Rinally's staff and grew thicker as she fed power into the spell. The Blizzara spell crashed into Ibrahim and his guards and flung them across the warehouse into crates and tapestries, knocking the contents over. Rin swept her staff down to her side and then up diagonally across her body, casting another Blizzara spell. This one was designed to delay their pursuit while she and the girl made their escape, and froze the air between them and Ibrahim. That done, Rinally quickly turned to follow the girl through the hole in the warehouse wall, and hand in hand, they ran down the back alley into the street where they disappeared into the crowds.

"This way!" the girl shouted, pulling Rin with her through the packed market street to another and another until they broke free of the market district and ended up somewhere more residential. The girl began to slow then, taking a quick turn that headed down a flight of stairs. Rinally followed her, taking the stairs down two at a time to keep up with the girl.

They finally seemed to reach a place that seemed safe enough to stop. Rin doubled over with her hands on her knees and sucked in deep breaths of air into her burning lungs. The girl was doing much the same.

"Think we lost them?" the girl asked as soon as she was able to speak without gasping.

Rin rose and looked over her shoulder. "Looks that way."

"I'm Melody."

Rin turned to find the girl holding out her hand. She smiled and took Melody's hand in her own. "I'm Rinally."

"I saw what you did back there. That was magic! Only my grandfather's trident can do things like that. How can you?"

Rin lifted her hand and summoned her staff. "This is my witch's staff. It lets me focus my power so I can cast spells."

Melody stared with wide eyes at Rinally's staff. Then she smiled widely. "So you're a good witch?"

"Are there bad witches here?"

Melody's face went from happy to sad. "There were, once. My mama fought an evil witch before she married my dad, and I fought an evil witch to save my mama and my family. I thought it was over, you know? But then my grandfather showed up, like I said, and I decided that I would stop the witch from being revived."

"You fought the witch in the ice?"

Melody nodded.

Rin smiled. "You're a brave girl, standing up to someone like that."

"I had help."

"Every hero does."

Melody seemed to beam at her.

Rinally looked away from the girl up to the town and the castle that loomed over it. It definitely wasn't safe for her and Melody to be wandering around the town now, because Ibrahim and his men would be looking for them. But Rin didn't know this place as well as Melody did, and Rin was starting to understand better who Melody was. A twelve year old girl standing up against a monster of a witch on her own wasn't a normal girl. And the fact that Melody hadn't been frightened upon seeing Rin the mermaid, and had helped her get her legs back. An old lesson floated to the forefront of Rinally's mind: those who are familiar with a certain kind of magic are those who are closest to it.

"Melody," Rin began, "you're part mermaid, aren't you?"

Melody's beaming face suddenly became subdued. She looked away from Rinally, toward the glittering ocean. "Yeah."

"And you know who's in that iceberg?"

"Yeah."

"You fought her before."

Melody nodded this time, rather than answer.

Rinally took a deep breath and let it out silently. "I wasn't lying to you when I said my friends and I were brought here to stop something bad from happening. My two friends are still out there in the ocean somewhere. Their names are Kaoru and Kai. They're Keyblade wielders. I need to find them, because the only way we can stop this bad thing from happening is if we're together."

Melody pressed her lips together and continued to stare out at the ocean.

"You said your grandfather came to talk to your mom about the lady in the iceberg and two strangers. I think those two strangers are definitely my friends."

Melody continued to say nothing.

Rinally sighed, this time louder. "Melody, you saved me and I'm really grateful for that. I don't know what I'd do without you. But right now, I need you to trust me. Okay?"

Now Melody turned to face Rinally, and in the twelve-year-old's face, Rin saw the strength of the girl who stood up to a terrifying witch, who had protected her family, who had fought against terrible odds to come out victorious at the end. "Mama has a friend who's a Keyblade wielder, too."

Rin smiled. "Is his name Sora?"

Melody's mouth formed that shocked 'o' again before a hesitant smile appeared on her face. "You know Sora?"

"He's pretty cute, isn't he?"

Melody blushed. "Yeah, he is."

Rinally smiled and held out her hand to Melody. "So will you take me to see your mama? I think we're going to have to work together to find out what's going on and then put a stop to it."

Melody grasped Rin's hand and gave her a fierce and brave smile. Without a word, the little girl pulled Rinally along behind her back through the streets. It was only as they reached the giant bridge that led to the palace that Rinally finally realized the other secret Melody had been keeping.

As the guards started toward both girls, Rinally asked, "Melody, you're a princess, aren't you?"

Melody gave a small smile in response before saying, "Not _a_ princess. _The_ princess. My mom is Queen Ariel and my dad is King Eric. She's human now, but Mama used to be a mermaid. Her father, my grandfather, is king of Atlantica."

When the guards surrounded them and escorted them toward the palace itself, Rinally caught sight of a beautiful woman with bright red hair standing at the open doors of the castle beside a handsome man with the same black hair and blue eyes as the girl beside Rin. They both stared at Rinally for a long while before looking toward Melody, then back to Rin. She took a deep breath, strapped some steel to her spine, and introduced herself to King Eric and Queen Ariel.


	52. Chapter 52

Fifty-One - Atlantica

Kaoru slowly woke to a pounding in his head.

As he became aware of his surroundings, he realized he was in a small cave that was barred by coral on one side. The other sides were dark stone, lit only by bioluminescent lichen. One side had a jutting stone shelf that had a pillow and a blanket folded neatly on top of it. Kaoru, however, was on the floor. And he was still underwater.

Slowly he pushed himself up and fought not to whimper as his head protested the movement. He didn't have any other wounds that he could see or even feel, but he couldn't be sure. Gingerly, he touched his head, and found a tender lump on the back of his skull. He wished Rin was there, because she could've healed the lump. She might've given him another for being caught off-guard to receive the first one, but at least she'd heal it.

It took a while for the pounding to stop on its own, during which time Kaoru explored his tiny cell but found no breach he could exploit to escape. He remembered the last thing he'd been doing, and swam closer to the coral bars to try and peer out, trying to see if he could spot Kai.

"Kaoru."

He followed the sound of his name toward a cell diagonal his on the opposite wall. Kai was there, his red hair gleaming in the light. His green eyes were focused on Kaoru.

"Kai." Kaoru said, gripping onto the bars. "I'm guessing we didn't end up with Rinally."

Kai's lips twitched. "Doesn't look like it."

"Do you know where we are?"

"Prison."

"That's not helpful."

Kai shrugged. "I woke up locked in here. After those guys attacked us at the site of the iceberg, everything's a blur. I don't remember being brought here. I don't remember being locked up. The guards have passed through here a few times. I guess they're checking up on us. Since they didn't execute us outright, I guess they want to know what we were doing there."

"They don't believe we were there to try and stop those men and Heartless from taking that iceberg, do they?"

"They didn't stop to chat with me. But I guess so."

Kaoru frowned and looked up and down the hall. He didn't remember the attack that had knocked him out, but he remembered the events leading up to it. It had happened so fast, he hadn't had time to defend himself. "Do you think Rin's okay?"

Kai nodded. "She's fine. She's a smart girl. Whatever they do to her, she'll figure a way out of it. She'll probably be the one coming to rescue us."

"Have you tried getting out of here?"

"Tried, haven't succeeded. This coral's like real iron. I wouldn't be surprised if it _is_ iron and the coral just grew over it."

Kaoru leaned against the bars so he could have a better view of Kai. "Did you try Sanctuary?"

Kai shook his head. "I didn't want to go that far until you woke up."

Kaoru smiled and warmth bloomed in his chest. On one hand, it was a practical statement. Kai wouldn't make it far if he had to defend Kaoru's unconscious form while he tried to escape. On the other, it was a statement of love and care. Kai could've escaped, but it would've drawn the attention of their guards, which would've caused a fight that would've gotten Kaoru hurt or even killed. Together, they were more dangerous than anyone would give them credit for.

Kaoru pushed back from the bars and summoned Guardian. He looked to Kai then and grinned. "Shall we try now, then?"

Kai's lips twitched into a smirk and Sanctuary appeared in his hand. Following Kaoru's movements, he pointed the tip of his Keyblade at the locking mechanism on the bars and focused on forcing the lock to open. A small beam of darkness-infused light burst from the end of Sanctuary and jetted into the keyhole. A second later, there was a click as the tumblers fell into place and the coral barring his way swung open.

Kaoru met him in the hallway. "Which way?"

Kai looked left and right, but he couldn't see a clear indication of a way out, nor did he see anyone approaching. "I guess we pick one and see where it goes."

They started down the left side of the hall, passing more cells. They were all empty. Kaoru studied the cells as they passed by and assumed there was very little crime wherever they were, as all the cells seemed to be devoid of any of the comforts his cell had contained and they looked quite unused. When they reached the end of the hall, they found two stairways leading down on the left and right of them respectively, and a window ahead of them that peered out onto a city made out of sea rocks and coral. Huge spires reached up toward the water's surface and smaller buildings crowded around what looked to be a town square. It was a huge, sprawling city filled with people. Kaoru could see men, women, and children going about their lives as if they were in a place like Paradise City rather than deep under water. They didn't seem to have any idea that two strangers were staring down at them from prison.

"Where are we?" Kaoru asked softly.

"Don't know." Kai responded. "Seems to be their capital city. Look. There are guards down there, too."

Following Kai's pointing finger, Kaoru could see several mer-people (he couldn't tell if they were male or female at this distance) moving languidly along what constituted as streets, dressed in armor and carrying spears. There weren't many of them, but somehow Kaoru was certain that they didn't need numbers to defeat any danger that might come their way. He frowned. "Do they have other security measures? Because we could swim out of here before anyone even noticed we were missing."

"I don't know. But we should assume they do. They were able to catch us with the element of surprise. That tells me they had someone watching that area. Between the time we arrived and the time we were attacked, they had the resources to get from here to there quickly and silently." Kai scowled, as if he disliked the fact he'd been taken without much of a fight on his part. "We need to be careful, Kaoru."

"I know. But..." Kaoru trailed off, looking back out the window onto the city. He tried to order his thoughts to be able to continue speaking. "But if we're here, then they think we know something. What if we can learn who that lady in the ice was? Maybe that will give us a clue as to why we're here."

Kai's expression darkened slightly. "We can't just go up asking people. They're going to know we're strangers, and they're going to come after us once they discover we're gone. Besides that, I doubt we wouldn't draw attention if we went asking complete strangers about the iceberg."

"Doubt we'd get much information either, that way. But I'm not suggesting we're gonna go around asking people. There has to be a library somewhere, right? They have to record their own history."

"Why would there be a library underwater? Paper would rot."

Kaoru looked at Kai with a skeptical expression. "I don't know. Why do people with tails of fish and sharks and who can breathe underwater exist? It's magic. Therefore, the rules of reality don't apply."

Kai rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. We'll go look for this library of yours. Maybe we'll draw less attention that way. Two boys asking people directions to a library would get less strange looks than two boys asking about a giant monster steeped in Darkness and trapped in ice."

"I can't tell if it's sarcasm or just your usual tone of voice."

"Shut up."

Kaoru shifted to give Kai a quick kiss on the lips in an attempt to apologize for having fun at the redhead's expense, then swam past him down the left-hand staircase. Kai followed him, keeping close so as not to get lost and separated but keeping a good enough distance that if they needed to fight, they wouldn't have to worry about hitting each other. They reached the next landing and ducked behind a statue of a rather impressively-muscled merman as a pair of guards swam by. The guards didn't notice them hiding in the shadows of the statue, which Kaoru was sure they would because of the way his tail drastically clashed with the darkness, and the pair kept on moving down the hallway. They waited until the guards were out of sight before slipping out from behind the statue and heading in the opposite direction.

Kai reached out to grab Kaoru's shoulder and pull him back from the mouth of the next hallway. Kaoru leaned back against Kai and kept still, his eyes focused on the opening. Without speaking, Kai pushed Kaoru back toward the way they had come and Kaoru went quietly, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Kai was following. He was, just swimming backwards so that he wouldn't take his eyes off that juncture. They reached the statue again and started to slide behind it in hopes it would shield them once again when a group of five soldiers turned the corner. For a handful of minutes Kaoru, Kai, and the guards stared at each other, and then one raised a conch shell horn to her lips and blew.

"Run!" Kai shouted, pushing Kaoru toward the opposite end of the hallway. Kaoru shoved off as fast as he could, swimming with all the strength he could muster toward the opening at the end of the hall even as the blast of the conch shell echoed in his ears again.

Four of the guards gave chase, swimming after them with speed gained only by those who were born naturally to a place such as this. Kaoru and Kai had gotten quite a bit of practice swimming, and somehow their bodies seemed to naturally know what to do, but they couldn't navigate this place as well as the guards could. Only by the miracle of split-second decisions to take sharp turns were they able to stay ahead of the guards. And that conch shell continued to blow in warning to anyone else who might be listening.

Kaoru realized that they were going downward in circles, often taking loops on the same floor of the building that would eventually get them caught. He caught Kai's wrist and pulled him into an alcove, pushing back as far as they could go. Each of them held their breath as the guards chasing them swam by, leaving bubbles in their wake. He held his breath for a second longer before releasing it as slowly as he could. Kai did the same.

"We have to blast our way out," Kaoru whispered. "We can't keep going in circles like this."

"Blasting our way out is the surest way of getting too much attention."

Kaoru shook his head. "Only one of us has to get away."

"Sacrifice the slower of us two so the faster one can get away?" Kai said, his voice indicating he clearly didn't like that plan, because it was clear which one of them was the faster.

"If you can reach the surface, you can see where you are. If you can reach Rin then, you can come back for me."

"I don't like this, Kaoru. What if they kill you?"

"I don't think they will. If they wanted to kill us, they'd have done it instead of putting us in those cells."

Kai scowled, then braced his hands on either side of Kaoru's head. His eyes slowly changed from green to Heartless gold and black, his lips drawing back from his teeth as he focused on his Light. "I don't like this, Kaoru, but to save this world, I'll do as you ask this once, got it? You do what you can to get away."

Kaoru lifted his hands and cupped Kai's face, staring straight into those Heartless eyes. "I promise." he whispered to his Darkness.

"Then lets get the hell out of here and find our Shadow."

Kaoru smiled and summoned Guardian to his hand. He swam out of the alcove and headed straight for the nearest wall. The quickest way to get anywhere, he knew, was a straight line. He only hoped that he had enough strength stored up to provide a powerful enough blast to get out of there. As he reached the wall, he swung Guardian out to his side and concentrated on forming Cascade. He held the spell for as long as he could, charging it up more and more, until he couldn't hold it anymore. Then he threw Guardian as hard as he could at the wall in front of him, releasing his power as he did so.

The Keyblade struck the wall and exploded. The concussive blast hit Kaoru and flung him backwards, spinning him through the water. A shadow rushed past him, one he innately recognized as Kai, and he saw a flash of darkness as Kai burst through the hole he had made in the wall. Kaoru forced his body to move toward the hole, shoving himself out of it and into open water just as the guards flooded the hallway. He angled himself down and sank as fast as he could, hoping he had the guards' attention was on him and not on Kai. Guardian reformed in his hand, trailing a streamer of golden light for half a second after its reappearance. Kaoru continued to swim as hard as he could down, down, down, leveling off before he got too deep. He could still sense Kai somewhere above him, growing more distant with each passing heartbeat. Kaoru looked up to see half the guards following him and the other half chasing after the fading blur that was Kai. If Kai got away, then Kaoru didn't care if he got caught. That had been the plan in the first place. He just had to draw them all away from Kai.

So he changed his angle, and started swimming upwards, forcing the guards to chase him that way. He could see Kai now, so close to the surface but still so far away. The closest guard was only a few strokes behind, and he wielded a two pronged spear that nearly pincered shut on Kai's tail if he hadn't been as fast as he was to suddenly change direction. Kaoru hauled back on Guardian and threw the Keyblade as hard as he could at the mer-man in the lead. The Keyblade glanced off the spear, spinning the man halfway around from the sudden shock of the blow. Most of the guards halted at that and turned their eyes on the boy who'd dared to attack them. Kaoru recalled Guardian and dove deep, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the guards had decided to chase him instead of Kai. A few had, but the rest still chased after Kai. Except it didn't matter now; Kai had a big enough lead on them that he could disappear into the darkness of the waters. They wouldn't be able to find him then. But Kaoru...

Kaoru spun around, making sure whatever light was in the water reflected off the scales of his tail. He jerked left to avoid one of those pincer spears and blocked another from his right with Guardian. He was going to be caught soon, he knew it, because the numbers were starting to add up against him. He was also starting to slow down, simply from exhaustion. So he decided to make one last stand, in hopes that it would be long enough to allow Kai to get even further away. He stopped swimming and turned to face his pursuit, lifting his Keyblade into a defensive position. He took a deep breath and prepared to fight for as long as it took for the last whisper of Kai's presence to fade from his immediate consciousness.

He never got the chance.

A bright bolt of lightning crashed into Guardian, the shock going straight from the Keyblade to his arm and the rest of his body. Kaoru couldn't even scream with how his muscles seized. He thrashed around in the water under no control of his own until the electricity finally stopped, and his fingers became limp around Guardian's hilt. He watched the Keyblade slip from his hand and start to sink to the bottom of the ocean.

A powerful masculine hand grasped Guardian's hilt before it sank completely to the bottom. The Keyblade then burst into motes of light, and Kaoru felt it return to him. Then Kaoru felt a huge hand take hold of his upper arm. A man appeared in his peripheral vision, stately and grandfatherly, with long white hair and a long white beard. A crown topped his head and in his now-free hand was a golden trident. The guards surrounded them with their weapons pointing toward Kaoru as if he still had the strength to fight. The man holding him lifted his trident slightly, and the guards backed away, but only just.

"I never thought I would see another Keyblade in my kingdom, not since..." he trailed off. "It seems I was mistaken about you." The man's deep voice boomed through Kaoru, making his bones rattle. Then his attention went from Kaoru to the dark waters around them. "I know you're out there, boy. You have a decision to make. I give you my word that you will not be harmed should you surrender. Nor will I order your imprisonment. It seems my world needs the help of Keyblades once more."

Kaoru finally remembered how to breathe and sagged in the man's hand. Blue eyes focused on Kaoru's face in mild concern, but he still didn't let go, nor did he offer Kaoru any help. Kaoru hoped Kai wouldn't come, wouldn't surrender, but he knew in his heart Kai would.

And he did. But his arrival was presaged by a pulse of pure Darkness that washed through the guards and the man with the crown and Kaoru. Kaoru felt the huge hand around his bicep tighten out of fear. Kaoru could see it in the eyes of the guards as Kai seemed to materialize out of the darkness, his eyes burning black and gold, Sanctuary held in his hand. Kaoru saw the king's eyes go wide at the sight of another Keyblade, and his hold on Kaoru's arm slightly loosened, but didn't release.

Kai said, "I have your word."

The king nodded. "It seems we have much to talk about."

"I want my friend back."

"Dismiss your Keyblade, and I will give him to you."

Kaoru saw Kai's eyes return to their normal green, and Sanctuary vanished in a burst of violet motes. Then the king released Kaoru and pushed him toward Kai. It was hard for Kaoru to swim, but he somehow managed it, and felt strength return to him when Kai's hands closed on his wrists and pulled him close. The guards surrounded them both, keeping them separate from the king.

"You should've kept going." Kaoru whispered. "You promised."

"You're more important." Kai responded. "Besides, I couldn't leave you behind. Rin would kill me."

That drew a short laugh from Kaoru. The guards shifted uncomfortably.

"Escort them to the palace and see that they are fed." The king ordered, his voice booming and deep. He focused on Kai and Kaoru. "We have to talk, and I fear we have little time to do it in."

Kaoru and Kai glanced at each other, then followed their crowd of guards back to the city they'd just tried to escape, and to the palace looming high, illuminated by light from below.


	53. Chapter 53

Fifty-Two - Atlantica

The palace was incredibly clean for being under water. Kaoru noticed that first before he noticed that the stone had been carefully carved into intricate designs and fanciful images that could and would last under the harsh environment it was in. After they had been given something to eat and were allowed to rest and relax for a minute without the constant guard, the king, whose name was Triton, allowed the two of them to explore the palace under the condition that they came when he summoned them and that they didn't wander where they shouldn't. And since there seemed to be guards wherever they shouldn't go, it was pretty easy for them to keep to where they should be. Which was how they ended up in a long hallway that seemed more like an art gallery than a normal part of the palace.

There were no tapestries as he understood them, but there were weavings made out of seaweed, dyed different colors just like a normal tapestry would be. Each one Kaoru saw seemed to tell a story of some kind, from the inception of the kingdom of Atlantica to portraits of the late queen and King and all the princesses. Two caught Kaoru's eye in particular. One was a portrait of a red-headed girl with a joyous, adventurous smile about sixteen years of age, and the other was of the same girl but older, standing on a beach with a human male with black hair and blue eyes, and a little girl about twelve or so, who shared the man's coloring but the woman's beauty. It wasn't lost on Kaoru that the mermaid in the one painting was the same woman standing on that beach.

"She became human?" Kai questioned, studying the same two paintings.

"Looks that way." Kaoru replied.

"That's Ariel."

The two of them turned to see a small yellow and blue-striped fish behind them. The fish swam a little closer, as if he was shy about being seen talking to the two strangers, but also happy at being given the unlooked-for chance to talk about someone important to him.

"Who's Ariel?" Kaoru asked at the same time Kai said, "Who're you?"

"I'm Flounder!" the fish said gaily, his voice still holding a hint of boyishness but right on the cusp of being an adult. "And Ariel is my best friend. Of course, she doesn't live here anymore, but I can go see her whenever I want."

"Was she a princess?" Kaoru asked Flounder.

"She was the youngest princess. But she's queen now." Flounder swam closer to the portrait and pointed at the dark-haired man. "That's her husband, Eric, and that's their daughter, Melody."

"Flounder, Triton said that he'd never expected to see Keyblades here again. Was someone here before?"

The fish turned to look at Kaoru and Kai. He rubbed his fins together, a completely human gesture in its nervousness. "Sora was here before, a long time ago. But he hasn't come here to Atlantica in the times he's visited since Ariel got married and left to live on the surface."

Kaoru looked at Kai before returning his attention to Flounder. "Sora visits here?"

"Well, he visits Ariel. He hasn't come around lately, though. I think the last time he was here was just after Morgana was imprisoned."

"Who's Morgana?"

"That," came King Triton's voice from the doorway of the hall, "is what we're going to discuss."

Kaoru and Kai looked at each other and then down at the king. Triton was staring at them both, pointedly ignoring Flounder it seemed. The two boys followed the king out of the hall and through the palace until they reached the throne room. Triton seated himself on the throne on a high dais, leaving Kaoru and Kai floating below him on the floor. Around them were armored guards and several court officials, including Flounder and an elderly red lobster that sat by the king's right hand. There were others as well, those who weren't court officials but obviously important enough to be part of the proceedings.

Triton held out his hand and one of those non-official-important-looking mermaids swam over quickly and handed him a rolled up scroll. She bowed and departed, returning to her original position. Triton read the scroll, then set it aside and steepled his fingers as he leveled his icy blue gaze on Kaoru and Kai.

"I would ask that you forgive me for your treatment," Triton began. "When I received word that three strangers were inspecting Morgana's prison, I immediately dispatched my forces to intercede however they may. I did not realize you two were Keyblade wielders. I believed that you and your friend were there to help those men and Heartless steal that iceberg, not stop it."

"Our friend, her name is Rinally, she went with the iceberg to see what those men wanted to do with it." Kaoru said. "She's alone on the surface, and we don't know what's happened to her."

Triton smiled and it looked like it hurt him to do so. "That's easily answered. It seems your friend has met my granddaughter and is safe within the palace. It seems she has helped put an end to a collector of strange and magical things, and she's been trying to discover the whereabouts of the sailors and ship that had taken her and Morgana in the first place."

Kaoru let out a breath of relief and Kai relaxed as well. Kai pointed to the missive. "Is that from her?"

"It is from my daughter, Ariel, stating the events as she knows them. Your friend Rinally also told her about a mysterious figure named Lorne. Does that name mean anything to you?"

Kaoru shook his head. He looked at Kai. "Lorne has to be part of the Brotherhood."

"He's got to be why those jelly-pus Heartless were there helping those guys take the iceberg. They were Brotherhood creations, not real Heartless."

"The Brotherhood?" Triton asked.

Kaoru looked at the king and began to speak of the adventures he and his friends had had up until their arrival to Atlantica. He told the king of the Brotherhood, their goals, their designs, everything that he and Kai and Rinally had discovered. He finished by saying, "If Lorne is part of the Brotherhood, then it can't be for anything good that he's taken Morgana. Even if he isn't, there's still a chance someone from the Brotherhood his behind this."

"When we arrived here, I sensed a powerful Darkness." Kai said. "We followed it there, to that iceberg. I don't think Morgana is dead, but whatever magic bound her keeps her that way. If we can find her before Lorne or whoever manages to break that enchantment, we can put her somewhere no one will ever be able to find her again, and we can deal with Lorne."

Triton was silent for a long while. He was staring off into the distance, stroking his beard. No one dared to speak while the king thought on the words stated by the Keyblade wielders, and no one dared to even move, as if the motion would cause the king to lose his concentration. Kaoru and Kai glanced at each other, wondering what was about to happen. Then Triton shifted, drawing his golden trident across his lap. He stroked the prongs of the weapon absently, his face a severe frown.

"There are places in this ocean where my people are forbidden to go." Triton said, his voice low. "Places with deep trenches that contain nightmarish things. If you can retrieve Morgana before she can be freed, then one of these places will be a better prison for her. As for this Lorne... I fear only you and your Keyblades will be able to deal with him."

"We came to this world for a reason," Kaoru said, "and if the reason is to deal with him, then we'll do it. We just need your help to reach our friend Rinally and the kingdom on the surface."

Triton shifted to lean close to the red lobster, and the two spent some time whispering to one another. Then the king sat straight in his throne and stroked his beard a few times. Then he said, "What were your names?"

"Kaoru."

"Kai."

Triton nodded. "Kaoru, Kai, I will offer you my aid as I can. I will have my people prepare a proper prison for Morgana where no human, whether from this world or outside, will be able to find or reach her. And I will ensure that her Darkness will not be able to reach out to anyone, either. Kai, I would like your help with that, seeing as you seem to be sensitive to the Darkness."

Kai nodded. "I'll help. After we solve the problem we're facing now."

Triton made an agreeing noise and rose from the throne. Everyone snapped to attention as the king moved down from his throne to and moved to stand before Kaoru and Kai. He put a hand on each of their shoulders and gave them a tight squeeze. "I'm counting on you two the same way I counted on Sora once upon a time. He helped my daughter twice. I'm asking the two of you to help her now, and my granddaughter. I've had enough of this war between Light and Darkness, and I want to keep both my kingdom and the surface kingdom safe."

Kaoru looked up at Triton and smiled. "Don't worry. We're here to keep everyone safe. We're going to get to the bottom of this, and we're going to make sure nothing like this can happen again."

Triton nodded and released them. He turned to a guard then and gestured. "Take them to the seahorses. Make sure they reach my daughter safely."

The guard bowed deeply to his king and then gestured for Kaoru and Kai to follow him. They went, and Kaoru glanced over his shoulder toward Triton. It struck him then that the king of Atlantica was quite old, and that the power he'd used to incapacitate Kaoru had taken a lot from the merman. Triton stared after them, his expression resigned but hopeful, the kind of expression a man wore after he'd experienced something like this far too many times before and hoped that he would never experience it again.

The guard led them through the palace to what seemed to be the stables. Within the building was a collection of seahorses, each one far larger than the ones Kaoru was used to. They actually looked like horses, except that they didn't have legs. One, a lilac and grey creature, stuck its head out of its stall and stared at the passing three with hazy sea-glass green eyes. Kaoru stared back, unable to help it. Kai pointedly ignored the creature and continued to follow the guard into the stables.

The guard spoke quietly with several of the stablehands there, and then Kaoru and Kai were embroiled in a flurry of movement. The stablehands pulled out a pair of seahorses that favored each other in coloring and began to put tack on them. As they did that, several more guards appeared and, with their original guide, began to saddle more of the seahorses. Without a word, the stablehands gave the reins of the two mounts to Kaoru and Kai, then disappeared back into the stable. One of the guards quietly instructed the two boys how to mount their seahorses and how to sit in the saddle and grip the reins, then mounted her own seahorse and moved the creature into position beside Kaoru. The other guards took up positions beside Kai, and before and behind them. Kaoru gripped his mount's reins tightly as the leader gave the order to move out, and the seahorse he was one lurched forward, racing with its brothers out of the stable, the palace, and Atlantica entirely.

In the open water, they moved speedily, but it wasn't fast enough for Kaoru's liking. Still, he didn't complain. He trusted Triton's guards to get them to Rinally without much incident. It still was going to take some time for them to reach the kingdom on the surface, and Kaoru hoped that Rinally would be okay on her own for a little while longer.


	54. Chapter 54

Fifty-Three - Atlantica

Rinally leaned against the railing and stared down at the moon-lit ocean with a soft smile on her lips. After she and Melody had been escorted into the palace by the guards, Queen Ariel and King Eric first admonished their daughter for running away, but praised her for helping Rinally escape the man who had kidnapped her. Then they had turned to questioning Rin, and the pink-haired girl explained her presence on their world. She described the events that had brought her and her two friends, Kaoru and Kai, here, and she had explained to Ariel that both her friends were Keyblade wielders brought here by the world's own urging to help protect it. Ariel, being friends with Sora, understood immediately the significance of the existence of Keyblade wielders on her world, and quickly had penned a letter on a special paper that could survive the sea. Rinally had added her own words, written in Ariel's hand, and watched as the queen handed the missive to an albatross with explicit instructions to give it to one of Triton's messengers.

After that, Rin had helped King Eric find Ibrahim and shut him down for good. Ibrahim had tried to claim his innocence, stating that it had been Rin's idea for her to dress up as a mermaid, and when he'd tried to work out a contract with her, she'd gotten greedy and decided to quit on him. Of course, that story didn't go very far, not when Melody and a pair of guards managed to find one of the sailors that had sold Rinally to Ibrahim in the first place. The drunken sailor didn't even know who he was speaking to as the story came out, and even asked Ibrahim if the mermaid he'd bought was bringing in all the gold he'd hoped for.

The sailor sobered up right quick when he was thrown in prison alongside Ibrahim, and over the long days finally told King Eric what else he'd been hired to find.

Morgana, Rinally had been told, was the younger sister of the sea witch Ursula. When Ariel and Eric had first met, Ursula had used her powers to give Ariel legs in exchange for her voice. Only true love's kiss could break the spell. With Sora's help, Ursula was defeated and Ariel was able to be with Eric. When Melody had been born, Ariel and Eric had decided that they would integrate their kingdom and the kingdom of the mer-people and celebrate both occasions. However, that happy day had been interrupted by Morgana, and Melody's life had been threatened. Twelve years later, Melody discovered the other side of her heritage when she had been tricked by Morgana into retrieving her grandfather's golden trident. With the help of her friends and family, Melody was able to defeat Morgana, and she had been imprisoned in the iceberg and sunk to the bottom of the ocean, where she had stayed until now. Surprisingly, that had all occurred only months ago, so the incident was still fresh in everyone's minds.

Morgana was a powerful witch, just like her sister, but while she was trapped in the ice, there was nothing she could do. It was clear that she was able to send out a call through the Darkness, which was how Rin, Kai, and Kaoru had discovered her in the first place. Rin was sure that Lorne had been called here in the same fashion. She still didn't know if he was part of the Brotherhood or not, but chances were good that he was. The sailor hadn't been able to describe Lorne because he hadn't seen the man, only heard him. He could tell them where they had delivered the iceberg, and had, which caused King Eric to send a few of his men out to check out the area. They had been gone for a few days and were due to return tomorrow. Once they returned, then Rin could figure out her next move.

She stared out at the water and wondered where Kaoru and Kai were. There hadn't been a reply to Ariel's letter, at least not that Rin was aware of. She hoped that they were okay. They hadn't been separated for this long before, and she worried about them. Somehow, she just _knew_ that they were still alive, but she couldn't explain how. Still, the feeling comforted her, and gave her the strength to keep moving forward and keep hoping that she would meet her friends again soon.

She pushed away from the railing and headed back inside the castle. Ariel had graciously given Rinally her own room, and the furnishings made Rin feel like she was a pauper playing at princess. The queen had welcomed her into their home and treated her as one of their own, which made Rin miss her family even more. And Melody reminded her strongly of her little sister, Yukari. Yukari and Melody would have definitely been friends. They had the same interests, and Melody had gotten into the habit of following Rinally around when she was able to. Speaking of following her around...

"Melody, I know you're there." Rin said, placing her hands on her hips.

Sheepishly, the girl stepped out from behind a changing screen and twisted her hands before her. "How could you tell?"

"I have a little sister about your age. She does the same exact thing when she thinks I'm not paying attention."

Melody perked up at the mention of Yukari. "You have a sister?"

Rin smiled, but it was bittersweet. "I do. I don't know where she is right now, though. I was separated from her and our parents when the Heartless destroyed our world. I've been trying to find them with the help of Kaoru and Kai."

"Oh." Melody's face fell, as if she shared in Rin's misery. "I was separated from my parents once. I did it on my own, but I never realized how much I would miss them."

"Nobody ever realizes how much they miss something or someone until they're gone." Rin sat on the bed and patted the spot beside her. Melody quickly joined her, jumping up on the bed and settling beside her. "Tomorrow when your dad's soldiers return, I'm going to be leaving. I have to find Lorne and stop him from freeing Morgana."

"I can help."

"I know you can. But I don't want you to get hurt, Melody. There's going to be a lot of dangerous stuff going on, and as brave as you are, as ingenious as you are, I don't think you can compete in this arena."

Melody flopped back onto the bed and sighed. "Is it because I can't use magic like you can?"

Rin twisted to look at the girl. "That's part of it. But if Lorne turns out to be who I think he is, then it's going to be way too dangerous even for your dad's soldiers to get involved."

"Then wouldn't it be too dangerous for you?"

"Maybe. But I can protect myself better if I don't have to worry about you. If I have to protect you and fight at the same time, then both of us are probably going to get hurt."

Melody's face grew impassive. Rin knew she had probably heard this argument many times before and figured that she was about to get stubborn about the whole situation. "What about your friends?"

"You mean Kaoru and Kai?"

Melody nodded.

"They trust me to take care of myself, too. We've been in a lot of battles, and Kaoru and Kai fight as hard as they can knowing that I'm there to watch their backs and protect them. But they also expect me to watch out for myself, because they can't stop what they're doing to protect me. We have to support each other, Melody, otherwise we'll all fall. Understand?"

Melody met her eyes with a stubborn look. "I don't like it."

"I know you don't." Rin grinned. "But since you're going to follow me anyway, you have to make me a deal. If I tell you to run, you run. You don't even dare to look back. If I tell you to do something, you do it, no argument. Okay?"

A huge smile spread across the girl's face and she popped up to give Rinally a hard hug. "Deal!"

"Oh, and you have to get your parents' permission."

The hug lessened in strength. "Fine."

Rinally wrapped her arms around Melody and closed her eyes tight as her heart ached. She missed Yukari so much in this moment that she was afraid she was going to start crying. Somehow, she managed not to, and as soon as Melody was out of the door and skipping down the hall to spring the news on her parents, Rin shut and locked her door. She leaned against it and stared at her room without seeing anything in there. Tomorrow, Rinally was going to fight on her own, without the secure knowledge that backup was on the way, for the first time since meeting Kaoru. She summoned her witch's staff, stared at it for a minute, and clenched her fingers tightly enough that her knuckles turned white.

 _Kaoru, I'm going to fight. I have to fight. For you, for me, for Kai, for Yukari, and my parents. I'm going to do this, and I'm going to win._

She took a deep breath, dismissed her staff, and got ready for bed and the next day.

Rinally and Melody crouched behind a stack of crates bound in netting and peered between the cracks in the wood, trying to see what was on the other side. King Eric's men had returned early that morning during breakfast, and described what they had found. They had followed the instructions of the sailor in the palace dungeon, and found the rest of the crew and the ship's captain drinking off their pay. They arrested and questioned those men, which allowed them to learn the location of Lorne. It was far outside the city, on a cliffside that overlooked the ocean. It was more a warehouse than an actual laboratory, and looked like it had seen better days. The captain, after delivering Rinally to Ibrahim, had set sail for this place and had delivered Morgana to Lorne that same day. He had received his payment, sailed back to the town, and then had proceeded to drink it all away.

Rin had barely finished stuffing toast into her mouth before she was headed out the door with Melody right behind her. Two guards had put them up on horses and had ridden behind them to the warehouse, but had stayed behind as Rin and Melody snuck up to the warehouse. It had taken them some time to find a way in that wouldn't alert anyone to their presence, and then they had snuck through the warehouse until they had found a good place to hide. Which was why they were behind the crates bound in netting.

Rinally could see a giant hole in the back of the warehouse facing the ocean. It looked like the wall had been cut out on purpose, and she could see a system of pulleys and weights and counterweights that she guessed had been used to unload Morgana from the ship. Touching Melody on the shoulder, Rin put a finger to her lips, then moved past the girl to the edge of the crates. Peering around the corner, she could see much more of the room. She spotted the iceberg wrapped up in ropes on the far end of the room, resting on a stone floor and propped up by metal prongs set into that floor. It still hung on the pulley system used to bring it up into the warehouse. Lights were focused on the iceberg, illuminating the creature trapped within the ice. Behind the iceberg, Rin saw a table laden with all manner of books and papers, along with a chemistry set that looked out of place for a world like this. She didn't see anyone else in the room, but she was certain they weren't alone. Still, they had to act.

So she turned back to Melody and gestured for the girl to come closer. "Remember the promise you made me?" Rin asked.

Reluctantly, Melody nodded.

"Okay, so, here's what I want you to do. Go back to the guards. Tell them to take you back to the city."

"What? Why?"

"Because, Melody, I need you to find me the biggest ship you can get. I'm gonna try to push Morgana out of that hole in the wall. See it?"

Melody craned her head so she could see where Rin was pointing. Her dark head bobbed in a nod. "I see it."

"Good. If you get me that ship, I can get Morgana out of here and down to you. Then you can start heading out for open water. If your mom's letter has reached your grandfather, I'm sure he's prepared and waiting for us."

Melody reached out and gripped Rin's hand. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Of course I am." Rin grinned and tousled Melody's tightly braided dark hair. "I've got the easy part. Everything about this plan rests on you."

Melody grinned widely and let go of Rin. "How will you know I'm out there?"

"I'll know. Just go."

Melody quickly headed out the way they had gotten in. Rin followed after a minute to make sure the girl did exactly as she was doing what she'd been told to do. She watched the guards, with Melody, ride off back to the city. Letting out the breath she'd been holding, Rin pushed herself upright and summoned her staff to her hand. The rod glimmered with the power stored within its owner and Rinally quickly reviewed her entire repertoire of spells. Then she took a deep breath and started out from behind the crates, crossing carefully over the floor and trying to avoid tangling her feet in the lengths of rope and cable that lay strewn across it.

As she reached the iceberg and began to look for a way to move it, she became aware of someone watching her. Stiffening, Rin turned to look up at the ceiling of the warehouse and found a young man in a tell-tale black coat sitting on a rafter staring down at her. He had ochre skin, golden eyes, and emerald hair styled in a mohawk. Silver rings were pierced in the cartilage of both ears and a stud glimmered in his left nostril. He was younger than she'd expected him to be, but he was still older than she was by at least five years. Readying herself for anything that might happen, Rinally asked, "Lorne, I presume?"

Lorne's lips split into a wide smile, displaying sharp canines. "I suppose you're that little mage girl who follows the Keyblade brats around. Rinally, right?"

"I don't remember giving you my name."

"I don't remember giving you mine."

They stared at each other for a minute before Lorne got to his feet and glided along the rafter to a rope. He grasped it and slid to the floor in a fluid movement that would've left the best acrobat jealous. He landed on the floor and folded his arms over his chest, still grinning at her.

Rin tracked his movements by pivoting on her heel rather than giving him her back. "If you know who I am, then you know why I'm here."

"Yes. To interfere in my operations. I really don't know why you would. As you can see, what I'm doing is perfectly harmless."

"Whatever the Brotherhood is involved in is definitely _not_ harmless." Rin argued.

Lorne shrugged. "Whoever said this was Brotherhood business? No, I'm doing this for myself." He placed his hand on the iceberg and gazed at Morgana like she was his most prized possession. Then he looked at her, his gold eyes slashing a glare at her. "And I don't appreciate you being here."

"Too bad." Rinally shifted, setting herself for a fight. "I'm here to stop you. You're disrupting the balance of this world. If you were running away from the Brotherhood, you should've just left well enough alone."

Lorne lifted his hand. Rinally saw the attack coming and raised a Barrier around herself. Lorne's spell glanced off her shield and struck a hole through a wall somewhere to the left and back of her. Rin chose not to retaliate yet, but she edged closer to the iceberg. She had to buy time for Melody to get here. Lorne didn't seem to notice Rinally's movement, though he gave an impressed whistle at the sight of her Barrier.

"Pretty good, little witch. Volstag wasn't joking when he said you were skilled." Lorne said, giving her a golf clap.

"Who's Volstag?" Rin asked.

An eyebrow rose on Lorne's face. "Big and scary berserker, likes to kill things? You killed his lady friend, Haiku, in Midgar."

A mental image of the person Lorne was describing formed in Rin's mind's eye. She remembered the huge man, an evil berserker who wouldn't even stop fighting even when he faced both Kaoru and Kai. It had taken Kaoru to break both arms for him to retreat, leaving Haiku on her own. "Well," Rin said at last, "I'm glad I didn't disappoint you."

"There's still time for that, little miss. Definitely still time for that."

"Why do you want Morgana so badly?"

Lorne slashed another glare at Rin. Then he reached up and stroked the ice, tracing the whorls and thin cracks within it with his finger. "Power. Why else would I want this fine specimen? She's a powerful sorceress, and the key to my plan. I need that power."

"Why?"

"Why, why, why? What is it with you hero-types? Why are the bad guys always required to reveal their plan to you? It isn't going to make much of a difference anyway. I'm going to kill you and I'm going to kill your two little friends, and I'm going to make this world mine." Lorne patted the iceberg. "She's going to help me, whether she wants to or not."

"Well, that's not fair." Rin retorted. "I really want to know why you're doing what you're doing. I mean, you say you're not with the Brotherhood anymore, right? So why wouldn't you just stay on the down low and keep the evil overlord desires to a minimum?"

Lorne turned his back on her and leaned against the iceberg, his gaze focused out on the water. "You wouldn't understand."

Rinally looked up, following the lines of the pulley system to the winch. Morgana's iceberg was still attached so all Rin would have to do is give it a hard push to swing it out into open air. Hopefully then gravity would do the rest and all she would have to do is control its descent so it didn't crash through Melody's ship. "Try me."

"I joined the Brotherhood believing in Ennio's message. A world free of both Light and Darkness, with no Keyblade wielders, no wars, no conflicts, nothing. It was perfect. We had all suffered in this stupid war between Light and Darkness, and Ennio had the path we needed to follow."

Rin moved as quietly as she could as Lorne talked. It was all things she'd heard before and things she'd figured out with Kaoru and Kai. Ennio's war against Light and Darkness and Sora and the other Keyblade wielders. His plan to control Heartless and his plan to control denizens of Light by using the black rods. His success with the former and his experiments with the latter, experiments, she was told, had been ruined by Kaoru's interference. He talked about how Ennio had promised them amazing things and seemed to even follow through on those promises. As he talked, Rin reached the winch and untied the knot holding the rope stable. She watched the ropes loosen and sag in their holdings. Then she moved around to the other side of the iceberg, glancing out at the opening in the wall. She saw open water and nothing else, and wondered how much longer she was going to have to stall.

She stiffened as she felt a sudden presence behind her. She turned around and found herself caught by Lorne. His grip was like iron, and his eyes blazed with deep fire as he grinned at her. "Ennio warned us about you." Lorne said, leaning close to her face. "He said you three brats were clever and resourceful. He said if we gave you the opportunity, you'd ruin everything we'd accomplished so far."

"That's what the good guys do." Rin growled, jerking on her arm to try and free it. Lorne wouldn't let go.

"Of course, that's what the good guys do. That's their job. Just like it's the job of the bad guys to do evil things. But for every bad guy, there's always a worse guy. And that worse guy is the one you should be worried about." Lorne leaned forward, sniffing Rin's hair. She kicked at his knee as hard as she could and connected, sending him howling to the floor. She scrambled away from him and spun, bringing her staff up and holding it ready for attack or defense.

"Let me guess," Rin spat, "you're the worse guy."

Lorne didn't give her a verbal answer. Instead, he gave a bestial roar and lunged at her. Rin dodged out of the way and spun, unleashing a low-level Aero spell to keep him away from her. She watched in shock as Lorne's coat ripped in half a dozen places as his body began to bulge and deform. His ochre skin bulged with veins and lines of fur formed on his forearms. His fingers stretched into claws. Even his feet burst out of their boots and turned into huge taloned paws. This other form reminded Rinally of the Beast, but in a much more wolfish way.

He charged her again, and Rinally unleashed two spells in conjunction with each other, causing a burst of icy shards to race for Lorne. He dodged all but two, but the blows were merely glancing and the wounds were minor. She jumped out of the way of his charge and rolled back to her feet, flinging a Blizzara spell at Lorne's back. It struck hard, sending his monstrous form crashing into the iceberg. Cracks appeared in the ice where he hit, and they seemed to widen where he gripped with his taloned hand. He clenched his fingers and ice burst like glass beneath his hand, sending a shower of it into the air.

 _He's absorbing the magic in the ice!_ Rin realized as she dodged another attack, this one stronger and faster than before. _But why isn't he absorbing mine?_

Her spells continued to be effective against Lorne. She struck him with minor spells and kept him from grabbing her in those terrible talons or from raking his nails down her back, arms, sides, and thighs. Her efforts were mostly defensive and designed to keep him away from her as she maneuvered herself into a position that would allow her to see out of the opening in the wall. Lorne became increasingly incensed at his inability to hit her and roared his frustration. He lunged at Rin and this time caught her with his massive shoulder, sending her flying across the floor where she fetched up against the iceberg.

Rin lay there stunned for a minute, coughing hard because all the breath had been forced out of her lungs. She looked up to see Lorne charging her and threw up a Barrier in time to keep him from grabbing her. She scrambled out of the way before the Barrier faded and felt more ice pelt her back as Lorne crashed into Morgana's iceberg. The whole thing tilted awkwardly from the impact and Rin managed not to get crushed by the tilting mass as she escaped being grabbed again. More cracks appeared in the ice and Rin thought she saw the woman within shift. It was a minute movement, so Rin thought she was imagining things and put it out of her mind. She spun around and brought her staff up and unleashed a Blizzaga spell this time, catching Lorne in the chest with the massive spikes of ice. It flung him across the entire length of the warehouse where he crashed into the crates stacked there. He didn't rise this time, but how long that it would be until he did, Rin didn't know.

She jumped to her feet and rushed to the edge of the opening, spotting at last Melody and the ship. The girl was flashing a piece of glass in the sunlight, waving her other hand as if that would allow Rin to recognize her. They were still too far away for Rinally to do what she had originally intended, but now she knew what Lorne's ability was. He couldn't absorb fresh magic, magic that was being cast and formed in a specific spell that was designed to dissipate as soon as it completed its task. The magic encasing Morgana was designed to hold for, well, forever, and only the caster of that spell could break it entirely. Except, it seemed, it wouldn't be the caster of the spell but Lorne who broke the enchantment. Every time he touched the ice in his changed form, he grew stronger while the ice itself grew weaker. She didn't have long to act if she wanted to not only get Lorne's source of power away from him but also prevent Morgana from breaking free on her own.

Rinally rushed to the front of the iceberg and summoned up the strongest Aeroga spell she could. She unleashed the spell at the iceberg just as Lorne broke free of the crates and flung one at her. Rin couldn't dodge it in time, so she hunched her shoulders to protect her head and finished the spell seconds before the crate hit her. It flung her across the room, into the table with the alchemy set, papers, and books. She cried out as she felt something break inside her and she flipped over the edge of the fallen table, landing hard on her side. She curled up, squeezing her eyes shut in response to the pain coursing through her body. Faintly, she heard an angry roar and knew if she didn't move soon, Lorne was going to come after her. It took all of her strength to push the pain aside long enough for her to cast Curaga upon herself. As soon as she could breathe again, she scrambled away from the overturned table on her hands and knees and escaped being crushed under Lorne's weight as he slammed down where she had once lain.

Rin shoved herself to her feet and ran to more open ground, seeing that her Aeroga spell had done its job. The fierce wind had blown Morgana's iceberg out of the open wall and the loose ropes had no longer had the tension they needed to make the iceberg swing back inside, as if on a pendulum. Instead, the iceberg had plummeted out of sight. She didn't know if it had landed in the water or if it was hanging by the cliffside, but she hoped Melody was close enough now that she could get the iceberg onto her ship and cut the line.

Without the iceberg near, Rinally could now unleash her more powerful Fire magic spells. She hit Lorne with Firaga, dodging out of the way of the flaming monster as he rushed her. Rin continued to unleash spell after spell at him, keeping each one short and as powerful as she could keep it. Lorne hit her twice, opening up a line of red on her shoulder and on her thigh. They were deep wounds, so she was forced to slap a Curaga spell on each, but she couldn't give more concentration to them beyond getting the bleeding to stop. She retaliated, though, by slamming a Thundara spell into Lorne's chest.

"I won't let you!" Lorne roared, picking himself up as he shook off the electricity that bounced along his skin. "I won't let you take this away from me!"

He rushed Rinally and grabbed her around the middle. Instead of slamming her against the floor or flinging her somewhere out of the way, he instead brought her with him toward the yawning maw of the warehouse's blown out wall. It was then that Rin realized what he intended to do. She struggled as hard as she could, kicking and clawing at that strong arm around her. Her actions didn't seem to bother Lorne in the least. He continued running toward that opening, and then they were suddenly weightless. Looking down, Rin saw that Morgana's iceberg hung against the cliffside just above the crashing waves. Melody's ship was still too far to do anything about it, but it was sliding out oars and Melody was pointing upwards at Rinally. The man at the helm, King Eric himself, started shouting something at the men on deck and as soon as those oars hit the water, the ship began to pick up speed.

At first, Rinally thought Lorne was angling them toward the water in an attempt to suicide himself and murder her. But she realized then that he was aiming for Morgana's crystal. Rin knew if they hit it at the speed they were falling, Lorne would survive only because he would absorb the rest of the enchantment contained within the ice. Rinally would die, either from the force of the impact breaking her neck or from Lorne slamming her into the ice first to attempt to soften his own landing. She began to struggle harder, pushing at the arm holding her and at Lorne's trunk to try and force him to release her. Her last resort was to wedge her staff between her and Lorne and pull as hard as she could on it in hopes that she could force him to release her. Her staff bent from the force of the weight she was applying to it, but Lorne's arm refused to budge.

Then, to Rinally's horror, her staff snapped in half.

An explosion of power ripped her from Lorne's hold and flung her out into open air.


	55. Chapter 55

Fifty-Four - Atlantica

Rinally spun through the air on a concussive wave created by her own power. She stared helplessly at both halves of her witch's staff, each of which plummeted to the sapphire waters far, far, far below her and disappeared. That staff had been a gift upon her confirmed entry into Sky Island's School of Magic, and had been with her for as long as she could remember. It was as precious to her as Guardian and Sanctuary were to Kaoru and Kai. Without it, Rinally didn't have a focus for her magic. Without it, she could easily kill herself as she could kill her enemies with her spells. She started to cry, mourning the loss of such an important gift and her own helplessness.

Then her descent began.

She saw Lorne hit the iceberg and smash right through it, sending himself and Morgana into the waters. She saw Melody and her father speeding with all haste toward the cliffs. She saw the waters in the distance boiling with activity as something speedily approached.

Then she felt the presences of Kaoru and Kai against her mind and she stopped crying.

Even without her staff she was still a powerful witch. Even without her staff, she could still fight. She wasn't a Keyblade wielder like Kaoru and Kai whose weapon would simply reappear in her hand if she willed it, but she still had her power. Her staff might be destroyed, but her magic was still there.

She spread out her legs and her arms as she'd seen master sky divers on the Sky Islands do and leveled out her free fall into something she could control. Then she drew both her hands before her, slowly, and concentrated on infusing as much of her magic into the air as she could. Flickers of her power began to roil in the coalescing air beneath her palms and her Aeroga spell began to form. She fed power into it, making it grow large enough to surround her entire body. Her descent slowed enough that she could control it, and she cast a Float spell upon herself as soon as she was high enough that a controlled drop wouldn't kill her. By then, she was close enough to Melody's ship that she could see their faces and they could see her. Melody left her father's side, waving her arms and calling out Rin's name.

Rinally landed on the deck of the ship hard. She lost her balance and fell forward, catching herself before she smashed her face into the wood planks. She was pushing herself upright when Melody slid to her knees in front of Rin and grasped her shoulders tightly.

"Rin! Are you okay?" Melody asked, her voice colored bright with fear and worry.

Rin nodded. "I'm okay." She hugged Melody tight and then drew back so she could get to her feet. She looked toward King Eric then and said, "I'm sorry. I tried to stop him, but he was just too strong for me."

Eric shook his head. "You did what you could, Rinally, and the most important fact is that you're alive and in one piece. Anything now, we can handle together." He began issuing orders then, calling for the oars to stop and for the ship to be brought about.

Rinally raced with Melody to the railing and watched the waters near the cliffs churn as something took place beneath the waves. The ship began to turn, angling away from the frothing water at the base of the rocks and heading back out toward the open water. Melody clutched the railing and stared at the water as if she was waiting for something to happen. Rinally watched as well, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the wood.

The water finally stopped churning, but in its place a white-capped wave lurched away from the cliffside and raced toward the ship. It was due to Eric's skill at the helm that the ship wasn't capsized by the wave, and instead was pushed further out to sea. Rin crouched against the ship's railing as the craft tilted, holding tight to the wood so she didn't lose her footing and go sliding off the other side of the deck. Melody let out a small squeal then as a giant tentacle lashed out of the water, spraying everyone on the ship with water. It crashed back into the water and sank below the surface. Rinally stared at the water, having a sinking feeling she knew what had occurred beneath the water's surface.

She pushed away from the railing and grabbed Melody's wrist, pulling the girl with her back to the deck where her father was. They reached the deck and Rinally spun to face the sails of the ship. "We have to get further away! Get out of its range!" she cried.

"We don't have time to deploy the oars." Eric said, even as he spun the helm to continue turning the ship back out toward open water.

"That's fine." Rinally focused on the sails and lifted her hands toward them. She concentrated on those sails just as she had concentrated on controlling her fall, and an Aeroga spell appeared swirling in the air in the space between her palms and the sails. She unleashed the spell, forcing the air to fill the sails. That magic allowed the ship to speed away from the cliffside, and just in time too.

The water exploded in white frothy geysers, sending spray up into the air. Rinally didn't end her spell until she was sure they were far enough away, and then she turned to see what was exploding out of the water behind her.

Tentacles writhed around in the air with whip-like motions. In the center of the whipping tentacles was the massive form of Lorne, but his mouth was caught open in a soundless scream, and his lower half seemed to be embedded in the chest of Morgana. The squid-woman herself was reaching toward the sky with both her arms, her fingers curved to display nails as sharp as knives. Her hair had gone from white and grey to emerald green with white streaks. Her eyes burned a fierce Heartless gold and black. Rinally stared with wide eyes, watching as water foamed and popped around the pair. Lorne's muscles strained against whatever force Morgana was using to keep him bound to her and Rinally thought she saw true pain on Lorne's face.

Rin bit her lip. As she was now, there wasn't anything she could do about what she saw in front of her. Without her mermaid tail, she couldn't get in the water to fight. She would have to fight from the deck of the ship, which could put everyone's lives in even more danger if she made a mistake. Without her witch's staff, she didn't have the fine focus and control she'd enjoyed before, so she could easily harm her own allies as easily as she could hurt her enemies. But if she could focus as she'd done with the last two spells she'd cast, maybe she could keep the spells from lashing backwards at her and those with her.

"What is that?" Melody asked, coming to Rin's side. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Morgana and the squid-woman's changed form. "What is she?!"

"They're fighting for control." Rin said. "Lorne intended to use Morgana's power to boost his own. Instead, she's now trying to control him. So they're fighting each other."

"I thought she was dead!"

As if the sound of Melody's voice was the trigger, Morgana's Heartless eyes focused on the ship and the dark haired girl standing beside Rinally. The sea witch's lips parted and a soul-wrenching angry cry escaped her. She lunged toward the ship, her knife-like nails stretching out wide. Rinally pushed Melody behind her and snapped out a Firaga spell. A huge fireball bloomed at the end of her finger and raced toward Morgana, making the air shimmer from the heat of the fire. It crashed into both Lorne and Morgana, knocking them back into the cliffside. Rinally gripped the railing as several huge rocks broke free and slammed into the water, causing waves that caught the ship and launched it even further away.

Rinally pulled herself upright and stared at the water, waiting for it to roil and break and waiting for Morgana or Lorne or whoever was in control to come after them. The water became as smooth as glass after it stopped churning, broken only by the waves that lapped at the stone of the cliff wall. A sinking feeling gripped Rinally then, and she looked below her, toward the water. Sure enough, a monstrous dark shape was passing beneath them. Rinally looked toward Eric, but she didn't dare call out. The king seemed to get the message anyway, and began using hand signals to his men. They began racing around the deck, grabbing harpoons or swords or whatever weapons they had available to them. Then they braced themselves away from the railings and closer to the center of the deck, keeping enough space between themselves to avoid hitting each other with their weapons. Eric remained at the helm with Rinally and Melody, his knuckles white as he gripped the helm. Rinally gripped Melody's shoulder and silently instructed her to watch the back and right while Rin watched the back and left. She didn't want any of them taken by surprise, but her biggest fear was that Morgana would come up right beneath them and break the ship in half. They couldn't make any sudden moves, nor could they try to run. They had to trust the ocean to take care of them and hope that Morgana was just going to pass them by. Of course, it was a slim hope, but a hope nonetheless.

The ocean exploded into a flurry of motion.

Rinally saw a giant tentacle coming down onto the center of the ship and cried out a warning to the men there. She concentrated all her energy upon them and managed to bring up a Barrier spell that protected them from the worst of the blow. Even still, her spell did nothing to keep the weight of the limb from pushing the ship down into the water by a few feet, nor did it stop the timbers from creaking and threatening to break. It took all of Rinally's concentration to keep the Barrier from shattering under the weight. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw King Erik lift a small harpoon and cock his arm back. The harpoon flew through the air and embedded itself into the soft flesh of the tentacle. From below the ocean came a horrid scream of pain, and the tentacle writhed back away from the ship and sunk below the churning waters.

"Man your stations!" boomed Erik, already gripping the helm of the ship. "Full sail!"

As the men scrambled around to obey their liege's orders, Rin and Melody watched the ocean continue to boil and writhe. The crystalline waters began to turn black, as if a massive oil spill had suddenly coated the surface of the water. Rinally shivered as she realized that it wasn't oil or ink, but pure, absolute darkness. Erik brought the ship around as hard and as fast as he could, and the men worked the ropes and rigging in order to catch the wind. The water splashed over the side of the ship in their haste, the sea spray cold and frigid against Rinally's skin. It felt like a herald of things to come.

The ship rocked on the waves as it sped away from the spreading darkness. Rinally left Melody by her father's side and hurried over to the port side rail, clutching the wood as she leaned over the side as far as she dared. There, beneath the darkness spreading across the white-capped water, she could see Morgana's tentacles writhing just under the surface. Rinally couldn't tell what the sea witch was doing, but for the moment she wasn't chasing them.

 _It has to be Lorne. He must be trying to wrest control of their joined form._ Rinally dug her nails into the wood, biting her lower lip as she furiously thought of a way she could win this battle.

The ship was perhaps three yards outside of the darkness that covered the surface of the water when its movement was suddenly arrested. The instant stop threw everyone, even Rin, to the deck. Rin pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and looked for Melody. The girl was clinging to her father, who somehow had managed to keep a tight grip on the helm of the ship. Melody's eyes were squeezed shut and her face was buried in Erik's chest. Erik had his arm wrapped around his daughter's waist, his face set in a determined grimace. Rinally reached to grip the railing and pulled herself to her feet. Her gaze found the darkness-covered water, finding it utterly calm, without even a single wave breaking its surface. It was flat, matte black, and Rin found it utterly terrifying.

Even more terrifying, out of that matte darkness something started to rise.

"Morgana," whispered Melody. It was so soft that Rin barely heard it, but even she recognized the sudden fear in the girl's tone. Glancing around, Rinally saw that all of the men on the ship, including Erik, were staring at Morgana's rising shape in utter terror.

She still had the Heartless eyes, Rin saw, but Lorne looked to have been completely absorbed. Rinally saw signs of him, such as the tufts of fur that decorated Morgana's shoulders and arms, but of the Brotherhood member, she couldn't see any sign of life. It appeared as if he had lost the fight against Morgana, and rather than absorbing her power, she had absorbed him. The squid-woman's lips split to reveal sharp, serrated, pointed teeth. She sat nearly frozen in the center of that darkness, her arms half raised, her fingers crooked to make her nails look like daggers. Rinally realized that one of Morgana's tentacles must have grabbed the ship's rudder and was holding it fast, leaving them completely at her mercy.

Morgana's Heartless eyes focused on the ship and her smile became even more sinister. "I see you, Melody." The voice that came out of that mouth was two-fold, both Lorne's voice and what, Rinally assumed, was Morgana's. "I'm so glad we have the chance to talk again. I haven't forgotten about you, darling. I haven't forgotten how you sealed me away in that frigid tomb. I should like to return the favor!"

The ship was suddenly yanked backwards toward Morgana. Rinally gripped tight to the railing, feeling her entire body strain against the sudden gravity being forced upon it. She knew that if Morgana was allowed to pull the ship back any closer to her, there would be no escape for anyone on the vessel, especially Melody and her father. Rinally rushed to the back of the ship and leaned over the railing where she could see the tethering tentacle just under the surface of the water. Rinally looked up then at Morgana, seeing the sea-witch's eyes glow bright with the power of Darkness. More tentacles began to writhe under the surface of the obsidian water, breaking through the water to begin to reach toward the ship as it came into range. If they reached the ship, they would wrap around the men on the deck and squeeze the life from them.

Rinally's heart pounded in her chest, filling her ears with the sound of a drum.

A brush of Light against her mind silenced that drum and filled her with confidence and certainty. A brush of Darkness against her mind made her feel powerful and gave her back the clarity that she hadn't realized she'd lost.

 _Kaoru. Kai._

Rinally lifted her hands toward the sky. Her friends were on their way, so close that she could actually sense them. Her staff might be gone forever, her powers might kill everyone around her if she wasn't careful, but she wasn't alone anymore.

"THUNDAGA!" Rinally screamed, pointing her finger right at Morgana's smiling face. Lightning, bright and yellow, snapped from Rinally's finger, searing the air between her and her target. The bolts of electricity struck Morgana in the face, snapping her head back and filling the air with the smell of burned flesh. The Thundaga bolts also hit the black surface of the water, making it hiss and pop and steam. Her spell also struck the rising tentacles, sending electrical shocks through the limbs that made them twitch and spasm erratically. Her spell not only caused Morgana to retreat further from the ship, it caused her to release the ship, and as soon as that tentacle released the rudder, Erik ordered the men to unfurl the sails. Rinally spun around and cast an Aeroga spell toward the sails, forcing the ship to speed away from Morgana.

Her spell didn't last long, and Morgana was soon giving chase again. She let out a bestial roar that was more indicative of Lorne than herself, and her hand swept up out of the water, sending up a sheet of spray. Erik quickly threw the wheel to the left, trying to turn the ship out of the path of Morgana's hand. He was successful only in the fact that he brought the ship into a sharp but slow turn that gave Morgana only one target: the ship's main mast. Wood shrieked in protest as a heavy weight struck it, and Rinally threw her arms up over her face to protect it from the flying wood shards. She was lucky compared to the men on deck nearest to the shattering mast, as most of the shards missed her, but one sliced into her thigh and drew a hot stinging line of blood.

"Watch out!"

Rinally looked away from her wound in time to see the mast, completely shattered from its moorings in the deck, begin to fall toward the port side of the ship. Men scrambled to escape the falling wood and sails, dragging themselves or pulling their wounded brothers if the men couldn't move. The mast crashed into the railing of the ship, shattering even more wood and sending more splinters flying, and then it struck the surface of the water with thunderous force.

Rinally slapped a healing spell over her wound, then hurried toward Erik and Melody. Erik was still gripping the wheel, but he was doubled over, shielding his daughter with his body. Rinally touched his shoulder and when he nodded, she threw a Curaga at both him and Melody before rushing to the first of the wounded men. She knew that it was probably a futile attempt, considering they were sitting ducks now, and Morgana was closing in. She looked up at the men around her, seeing fear in all their eyes, even from the ones she had healed already. She saw the moment they knew their lives were over and were giving up.

"It's not over yet." Rinally said, earning their attention. "It's not over. As long as we're alive, we can still fight!"

"She's right." Erik said, joining the men. Melody stood beside her father, glaring up at Morgana. "As long as we have hope, we can achieve anything."

"But, my lord, we have nothing to defeat _that_."

Before Erik could refute the sailor, Morgana let out a laugh of confidence and victory and lifted her hand to point a sharp-nailed finger toward the ship. Darkness gathered at the tip of her finger, steadily pulsing as it grew larger. Then she howled, "I will pay you back for every ounce of shame, every ounce of pain, and every ounce of humiliation! I will destroy you! I will destroy everything!"

Rinally lifted her hands to the sky and focused her power into the most powerful Barrier spell that she could muster. The air around her and those with her flickered blue and white with her spell, almost as if the air itself was electrically charged. The shield formed fully seconds before Morgana unleashed her spell and that ball of darkness sped toward them. Rinally locked her elbows, splayed her fingers, and stared at that orb coming toward her, teeth clenched and all her focus poured into her Barrier.

A flash of light streaked across the sky and struck the orb before it reached the ship. It sent the orb of darkness flying backwards toward Morgana, though it never reached her. A shadow crashed into the orb seconds before it would have struck her, and the orb exploded with a massive shockwave that sent both the ship and Morgana reeling. The sea witch crashed back into the ocean with an animalistic cry while the ship was carried forward by the pressure of the shockwave hitting its hull and the waves that were born by Morgana's fall. When the ship came to a rest, Rinally released her Barrier spell and hurried to the railing, leaning over the side.

A huge grin appeared on her face and relief filled her. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "It's about time you two showed up!"

The flash of light and streak of darkness - Guardian and Sanctuary - spun through the air and each Keyblade returned to the hands of their owners.

Kaoru smiled up at Rin and lifted Guardian slightly, as if saluting her.

Kai flourished Sanctuary, his eyes blazing Heartless black and yellow, and said, "Get down here, Rin. We've got a job to do."


	56. Chapter 56

Fifty-Five - Atlantica

Rinally crouched, balanced on the small lifeboat as it was lowered into the water. She looked up at Melody and gave the girl a thumbs up and a bright smile. Melody gave her a smile in return and yelled, "Be careful, Rin!"

"You be careful, too! Take care of your dad and everyone!"

"I will!"

The lifeboat hit the surface of the water and began rocking immediately. Rin held onto the side of the boat, watching the men throw off the mooring ropes. As they did so, the small contingent of mer-people that had accompanied Kaoru and Kai lashed ropes to the prow of the ship, tying the ship to their seahorses. The men on the ship had pushed off the rest of the mast from the ship, leaving it floating in the water. Rinally pulled the mooring ropes into the boat and leaned over the side to give both Kaoru and Kai a hug as they swam up to the boat and reached to hold onto the edge.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Kaoru said, though his eyes saw the healing cut on her thigh and darkened slightly.

"Told you," Kai said, earning a confused look from Kaoru and a bright grin from Rinally. Kai turned his attention to the mer-people and lifted Sanctuary. It seemed to be a signal, for the captain of the group nodded and urged his seahorse to move forward. The ropes tying the ship to the seahorses pulled taut and the ship began to move through the water. Kai then looked at Kaoru and Rin. "Don't take too long."

"Don't do anything stupid." Kaoru replied.

Kai scoffed, then sank below the waves. Rinally saw his shadowy form dart away from her boat and toward Morgana, who was regaining her senses. Rin saw Sanctuary strike a tentacle, cutting a deep line in the meat. Above, Morgana let out an enraged howl and struck at Kai, missing him only because he was already moving to strike elsewhere.

"Where's your staff?"

Rinally looked at Kaoru and her heart constricted with pain. "It broke. I lost it."

He looked alarmed, but his alarm quickly became concern. "Are you okay?"

Rinally appreciated the fact that his concern was for her, and not about the possibility that she might kill them all if she didn't have her staff. "I'm fine. I can still fight."

Kaoru nodded. "What happened?"

Knowing they didn't have much time, Rinally condensed her story into the main points: Lorne was a member of the Brotherhood but had gone rogue; he could absorb dormant magic; he had changed forms to attack her, but ended up becoming absorbed by Morgana; and Morgana had the powers of Darkness at her disposal, along with anything Lorne might have had. "I can't do much below the surface," Rinally added. "And I think that Lorne is still alive inside her."

Kaoru looked toward Morgana, his eyes trailing over her face and her features, spotting the things that were different and the things that were the same. He adjusted his grip on Guardian, his fingers flexing on the side of the boat. "If he is, then we should be able to save him if we defeat her."

"I hope so."

"But we have to defeat her first."

Rinally nodded. She gasped as the boat rocked over several furious waves, all of which were caused by Morgana's thrashing as she tried to hit Kai. She gripped the wood of the boat and met Kaoru's gaze. "I can't go under the water, but I can fight from here. If you can fight her from below, I can throw as many spells as I can at her from here."

"Okay. But be careful. If it starts to look really dangerous, get yourself out of here. I don't want to lose you."

In that moment, Kai's words to her echoed in her mind. _Kaoru would be heartbroken if you died._ She realized that she was a liability as she was, but she was also a valued ally. If she thought it was getting too dangerous, she needed to get out of range of Morgana's attacks. "All right, I'll do it. But if you think it's getting too dangerous for you and Kai, you get out of range, too."

Kaoru flashed her a smile. "I'll try." Then he disappeared under the water's surface, a silver flash that quickly went to join Kai.

Rinally took a deep breath to settle her nerves and focus. While Kaoru and Kai fought underwater, she would fight from the boat, and now that Melody and her father and the crew were safely away, she wouldn't have to worry about holding back. As long as her friends stayed under the surface of the ocean, she wouldn't have to worry about hitting them with any of her spells.

She raised her hands toward the sky, focusing on her Thundaga spell. Dark clouds gathered above her head, flashing with light. Rinally felt power surging up inside her, ready and waiting for her command. As if in response, a bolt of lightning snapped across the dark clouds, searing the sky with bright light. Rin brought her arms down and pointed her fingers at Morgana's leering face, then snapped out the command for the most powerful Thunder spell she knew. The Thundaja spell created a thunderous boom as it left her fingertips, and the air sizzled and popped as the jagged bolts shrieked toward their target. The first of the bolts hit Morgana on the shoulder, burning a huge patch of flesh. The second and third struck her chest and stomach, and the fourth hit her face, snapping her head back and setting her hair aflame. That eerie twin scream escaped her lips again, and the sea witch dove under the surface, leaving only steam behind.

Rinally stood with her feet spread apart for balance on the rocking boat, scanning the surface for any sign of attack. She spotted Kaoru speeding toward her, and then he suddenly spun around and dove, Guardian flashing left and right as he parried and blocked the tentacles heading for Rin. His armor glowed like a diamond beneath the dark surface of the water, the prismatic colors like a beacon. On the other side, Kai was cutting through the water as fast as a shark, his Keyblade held close to his body as he zeroed in on his target. Sanctuary cut through the soft meat of several tentacles, severing them from the main body and lessening the pressure on Kaoru. Their assault drove Morgana above the surface again, where Rin hit her with two Thundaga spells and a Blizzara spell. The ice coated the surface of the water, turning from clear blue to black as her magic rested upon the darkness. Then, to Rin's horror, the power of her spell suddenly fizzled out, and Morgana let out a terrible laugh.

"Your magic is quite tasty," Morgana looked toward Rinally then, her Heartless eyes sparking with power. "The little man's ability is quite useful, don't you think? It took some time for me to figure out how to use it." As if to accentuate her point, Morgana reached for a small chunk of Blizzara-made ice and crushed it in her hand. Rin saw the spidery veins of her magic flicker and flow into Morgana's skin, and several of the wounds that had been inflicted upon her healed. Morgana threw back her head and laughed again. "You can't defeat me!"

A tentacle exploded out of the water and raced toward Rin. Kai intercepted it, Sanctuary cutting through the limb easily. He followed it back down into the water, then resurfaced, his armor glittering deep black on his arm and shoulder. He spat out a soft curse. "I hate bad guys who think they're invincible." he grumbled.

"She can absorb my magic because of Lorne. Lorne could only absorb dormant magic, magic that's used to imprison or to keep something from escaping or spoiling. He couldn't absorb active magic." Rinally said. "If she can control that ability now, then she's right. I can't defeat her."

Kaoru surfaced beside Kai, his eyes focused on Morgana. "Then back us up, Rin."

"Go do your Knight thing."

Kai and Kaoru glanced at each other, sharing a tiny smile. Kaoru looked back at Rin. "Make sure she can't cast anything at us."

Rinally nodded and her friends disappeared back under the water. She knew the moment when the two of them went into White Knight and Black Knight modes respectively because she _felt_ it. It was the same as when she had felt the two of them against her mind, the soft brush of Light and Darkness against her senses that had alerted her to the fact that they were close. Rinally tried to track them under the water, but they were too deep for her to spot. However, she knew they were fighting, as Morgana kept twisting and turning on the surface, trying to crush Kaoru and Kai with her tentacles. Rinally watched Morgana raise her hand and call to it the same kind of dark orb she had tried to destroy Melody with. Raising her own hand, Rinally snapped out an Aeroga spell, knowing the spell-bound wind would be impossible for Morgana to absorb and knowing that it would draw Morgana's attention to her again.

As soon as he was given the opportunity, Kaoru broke the surface of the water and flung Guardian as hard as he could toward Morgana's chest. The gold and silver Keyblade rotated several times before impacting, drawing a deep rent in Morgana's skin. Darkness rather than blood sprayed out into the air, and Guardian returned to Kaoru's hand. Morgana's retaliation came fast, but Kaoru's Holy Shield materialized around him and protected him from the worst of the blow. Her hand still crushed him down beneath the surface of the water, but his armor gave him the speed he needed to escape being snared and he escaped Morgana's hand.

While she was occupied with Kaoru, Kai exploded out of the water, launching into his Nightmare Raid attack. He was forced to cut it short, however, as Morgana turned toward him and assaulted him with tiny spheres of darkness, each one a speeding bullet that put Kai on the defensive and forced him to utilize his enhanced speed to his fullest. Still, his assault had opened up more wounds on her body, spraying more darkness into the air. Rinally thought she saw a glimmer of light in the worst of the wounds Kai had inflicted, but she couldn't be sure. Lorne had to be alive in there somewhere. He had to be.

Rinally yelped as the boat rocked violently, the waves caused by Morgana's thrashing nearly flinging her little boat completely on its side. Kaoru and Kai cut and hacked at her, dividing their time between offensive attacks and defending themselves, each other, and Rin. As the small boat came to a rest, Rinally released her death grip on the wood and forced herself to stand up. She saw Kaoru and Kai flash by under the water, their Keyblades hacking at something Rin couldn't see. When one surfaced belly-up before exploding into tiny motes, Rinally realized that jelly-pus Heartless had appeared, and that Morgana was starting to retreat. Knowing that if she escaped they would never have a chance to defeat her, Rinally made a dangerous decision.

She cast a Blizzaga spell on the ocean's surface rather than at a particular target. As the surface of the water froze, Rinally leaped from the boat and landed on the slippery ice. She managed to keep her balance, then took off running. She saw Kai dispatch a jelly-pus Heartless then hurriedly move to intercept another one. Kaoru was the one who caught up to her, and together they raced toward Morgana. He didn't know her plan - and, if Rin had to be honest, she didn't know her own plan either - but he was coming to support her. Behind her, a burst of Darkness shattered the ice and Kai and several Heartless exploded from below the surface, his power destroying them in a heartbeat. He dove back under the water but didn't move to join them. Rin knew he would catch up when he could; right now, Kai was focusing on making sure nothing came at their backs.

Kaoru intercepted a tentacle that sped beneath the ice with the intention to break it. With two hard blows from Guardian, he beat the limb off, then sped ahead of Rinally. Even beneath the black ice, Rinally could see him as a bright light, showing her the way across the ice. Rinally pounded down her self-made path, racing as fast as she could toward Morgana. As she came within range, Rinally threw a salvo of low level Fire spells at Morgana, forcing the sea witch to come to a halt and face the threat behind her. Morgana's face twisted into an evil snarl and she raised her hands to call a spell of her own. Rinally ignored it and continued to run. At the last second, she threw herself into a slide, and she felt Kaoru's Holy Shield snap into place around her. Morgana's spell hit the ice ahead of Rin and broke around the Holy Shield, threatening to shatter the shielding orb. Kaoru broke the surface then and threw Guardian skyward, calling upon Cascade.

The motes of prismatic light rained down on Morgana, causing her to raise her hands to try and shield her face from the rain-like attack. Her wounds smoked fiercely as Cascade hit them and a cry of severe pain escaped her. Rinally jumped from iceberg to iceberg as Cascade rained down on her, and finally leaped onto Morgana's bulk. A tentacle whipped toward Rin as she began to climb, but Kai intercepted it with his Nightmare Raid, landing five successive hits upon the tentacle before he flashed out of sight and reappeared above Rinally, cutting deep into Morgana's flesh. He flashed out of sight again, then reappeared to fight off another tentacle. Kaoru joined him, then the two disappeared back under the water again.

Rinally climbed, hand over hand, until she reached the freshest wound Kai had inflicted upon Morgana. _There!_ Rinally could definitely see a glimmer of light inside Morgana, but it was weak and growing dimmer. It had to be Lorne. But how could she reach him?

A shadow loomed over her and Rin looked up to see Morgana's hand coming in to crush her. The girl threw herself to one side and clambered up Morgana's side as fast as she could before she actually was squished. She managed to avoid that attack and retaliated with a fireball, using a simple Fire spell so that Morgana's gain would be too insignificant to do anything for her.

Guardian knocked Morgana's hand further away, and Kaoru threw the Keyblade again when it rebounded back into his hand. "Go, Rin!" Kaoru yelled. He disappeared under the water before he was struck by a powerful spell.

Rinally quickly clambered back to the wound and the dimming light. Uncertain exactly what she was supposed to do, but knowing she couldn't just let Lorne be absorbed by Morgana, Rinally took a deep breath and thrust her hand into the wound. Her entire arm went inside, but she didn't get the sensation of hot flesh and pulsing blood against her arm. Rather, she felt a vast emptiness, as if she had just reached into a hollow hole. She pulled her arm back, stared at her fingers for a minute as tiny wisps of darkness dissipated from her skin, and realized Morgana's large form was merely a shell, a construct made from the combined powers of the sea witch and Lorne. That's why none of her wounds bled. But the construct still felt pain because it was connected to the two that had created it in the first place. If Rinally managed to get Lorne out, then the construct would lose most of her power, if not her large size, as Morgana would be the only one powering the construct.

"Lorne!" Rinally screamed. "Lorne, if you can hear me, reach for my hand!"

She thrust her hand back into the wound, stretching her arm out as far as she could.

"Lorne! Lorne, take my hand! I know you're scared about what's happening. I know you're afraid of Ennio! I know you're afraid of what he's really trying to do! But this isn't the answer! Helping Morgana destroy everything isn't the answer! It doesn't solve anything, it just makes the problem worse!"

Rinally kept reaching, searching around for anything solid, anything substantial, in that hollowness. "You can help us!" she cried. "You can help me and Kaoru and Kai and Sora and Riku stop Ennio! You can help us stop whatever it is he's planning to do! We can help you, too! I know the unknown is terribly frightening, and I know that you think you're powerless unless you do something on your own, but none of that is true! As long as you have friends, it's okay if you're afraid, because your friends will be there to support and protect you! As long as you have friends, it's okay to feel powerless, because your friends will give you power! So let's be friends. Okay?"

Morgana let out a bestial cry as she reached to crush Rinally again. Refusing to move this time, Rinally continued to reach within the hollowness and fish around for something, anything, she could grab onto. Kaoru and Kai were there then, their Keyblades cutting through the air to force Morgana's attack away from Rinally. The two of them were fighting as hard as they could to protect her while she fought to find Lorne, but she knew their energy wouldn't last forever. Already, they had fallen out of their White Knight and Black Night modes, unable to sustain the armor or the increased abilities that came with it any longer. Yet they weren't giving up. They were trusting her to know what she was doing. She hoped her efforts weren't in vain.

"My friends are fighting right now to help you, Lorne. Please. Please take my hand." Rinally looked up to see Morgana's Heartless eyes focused on her, her lips pulled back to show her teeth, a look of pure maliciousness on her face. "Please, Lorne. You don't have to fight alone. You don't have to fight Ennio alone. Help us. We can stop him. We can make sure he can't hurt anyone ever again! If you fight alongside us, you'll be able to live free and without fear, just like you were trying to do. We'll help you. That's what friends do, Lorne."

Something wrapped around Rinally's hand. Nails dug into her skin in a desperate grip. Rinally tightened her hold around Lorne - she hoped it was Lorne - and began to pull on him. The hollow darkness within the construct refused to give up one of its creators so easily, and so Rinally had to brace her feet against Morgana's body and use her free hand to give her leverage, pulling as hard as she could. Behind her, Kaoru and Kai continued to fight to protect her, Guardian and Sanctuary cutting into Morgana and Heartless alike to keep them distracted and away from her. Rin clenched her teeth and felt her muscles strain against the weight she was trying to yank on; even her shoulder felt like it was about to be pulled from its socket. Yet she kept pulling, kept fighting. She refused to give up.

A hand appeared from within the wound, stained with darkness. It blindly sought purchase, so Rin leaned back as far as she dared and used her free hand to grab hold of Lorne's wrist. Using her legs, she continued to pull, and then Lorne's green head appeared, still half transformed into his wolfish form. His eyes were focused on Rin's face, wide with fear and apprehension and surprise, but he said nothing to her. Rinally adjusted her grip on his other hand, and he adjusted his grip on her, and together they wrested him from the darkness within the construct. Morgana reeled shrieking; she began to thrash around, clutching her head. Her movement threw Rinally and Lorne away from her and into open air. They were weightless for a minute, and then they began to fall toward the water's surface.

Lorne wrapped his arms around Rinally and pulled her close against him, shielding her from the brunt of the crash. They were submerged for a handful of heartbeats, and then they surfaced, bobbing together in the water.

Rinally looked at Lorne's wolfish face and smiled brightly. "You heard me."

Lorne studied her for a moment before nodding slowly. "When I was lost in the darkness, your voice became a bright light that I couldn't ignore. I... I never experienced anything like that before... not even when Ennio recruited me. I..." He stopped as Kaoru and Kai joined them, but the two Keyblade wielders didn't attack him, rather studying him like he was some enigma they needed to figure out before he hurt Rinally.

Kaoru came up to Rin's side, helping to support her as they bobbed in the waves. "So now what do we do? Kai and I don't have much left."

"With Lorne out of the construct, she should lose a great deal of her power." Rinally explained. "She can't draw on his powers anymore. It should just be Morgana now that we have to deal with."

"She's strong." Lorne said, his voice slightly subdued. "Even my powers couldn't fully keep her in check."

The four watched as the sea witch continued to thrash and writhe in the water, her giant form shrinking bit by bit until she was the size she had been when Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally had first encountered her. She was still for a minute, then she lifted her head and stared at them with Heartless eyes. Her hands whipped up and razor sharp ice shards materialized in the air before her. With a sharp command, the shards rushed toward them.

Rinally flung up a Barrier, which managed to block most of the shards. But a few managed to streak across the open air before the Barrier was fully realized. Lorne moved with more speed than he should have possessed and positioned himself in front of the three teenagers. Pain flashed in his eyes as the ice shards struck him in the back; at the same time, a semblance of vitality appeared in his skin, and he seemed to grow a little bit stronger. His transformation, stuck between his alternate wolf-like form and his human one, finished then, leaving him looking as he had when Rinally had fought him - a wolf-like humanoid.

All three of them stared at Lorne in surprise. He smiled at them and said, "Don't worry. It's just a scratch." He looked at Rinally then. "I want to see this world you spoke of, where your friends are your power. Can you help me?"

Rinally stared at Lorne with wide eyes. "How?"

"I have an idea."

Lorne quickly explained what it was he wanted done, and Kaoru and Kai glanced at each other, exchanging a silent communicative look before they agreed. With a flick of their tails they dove under the water, speeding toward Morgana even as she prepared to unleash another spell against them. Rinally cast a small Blizzard spell on the water before her, creating a bobbing platform onto which she and Lorne were able to crawl onto. As Kaoru and Kai engaged Morgana, Rinally went from her hands and knees to her feet with Lorne kneeling behind her, holding onto her waist.

"Are you sure about this?" Rinally asked.

"My power allows me to absorb energy from outside sources to empower myself. It has to be a source that has an extended shelf life, so to speak. It shouldn't be hard for me to use my power to empower your spells."

"That's not what I asked."

"No, I'm not sure. But it's the best we have."

Rinally took a deep breath and gave a little shrug as if to agree with him. She was giving him a huge measure of trust by allowing him behind her, and allowing him to even attempt his idea. He could kill her at any time, and she wasn't sure that he really did have a change of heart. But she believed in him, believed in the words he had said, and she trusted that.

Rinally focused on the spell she wanted to use. The Thundaja spell, the one she had used earlier, had been empowered because she hadn't needed to hold back or really control the power. But now she had to focus her magic into a precise spell with a precise target. She had performed the same feat she was attempting now before, but only with Kaoru. She didn't know if it would work with both Kaoru and Kai. But Lorne was right about one thing: this plan was the best they had to defeat Morgana for good. As she began to gather the magic to power the spell, she felt Lorne's hand splay against her back, just between her shoulders. His other hand remained on her hip, steadying her. She heard him take a deep breath and let it out slowly, and then she felt an electrical charge in the air that had nothing to do with her Thundaja spell. She felt power surging toward her from Lorne and couldn't stop her gasp as his power, all the energy he had absorbed from Morgana's ice spell, flowed into her through his touch to her back. The hairs on the back of her neck rose, as if they were electrically charged themselves. She raised her hands toward the sky, her fingers slightly splayed, and closed her eyes to better focus on forming her spell.

When she opened her eyes, she thought she could see the ebb and flow of the magic in the air. Steady streams of Light and Dark flowed on invisible currents, igniting around her fingers as if they were aiding her in charging up her spell. They flickered through thousands of colors before concentrating upon the coalescing power forming inches above her palms. When she blinked, those currents of power were gone, and in there place was a floating sparking ball of lightning, snapping and fizzing with contained power.

She slowly brought her hands down so they were level with her chest. With Lorne's help, she carefully shifted her weight so her left foot was more forward than her right, and brought her right arm back, as if she were going to pull on a bowstring. In response to her movement, her Thundaja spell stretched as though she were pulling on it, and the spell went from an orb to more of a spear shape. Then she held the spell in place, pouring her power and Lorne's into the electricity.

Kaoru and Kai burst out of the water at the same time and threw their Keyblades as hard as they could toward Morgana. The sea witch raised her hands to bring forth a shield to stop the weapons from striking her. Guardian and Sanctuary spun hilt over blade in the air, and seconds before they struck the shield Morgana had raised, Rinally unleashed her Thundaja spell.

The spear of lightning struck both Keyblades the moment they collided with the shielding spell. Guardian exploded into Cascade, sending electrically-charged motes of prismatic Light into the air. Sanctuary exploded in its own way, bright violet motes of shadow coalescing around the raindrops of Cascade, forming hailstones that rained down upon Morgana. Those sparking hailstones broke through Morgana's shield and struck her like rocks, pounding her into the ocean's waters. The electricity contained in the hailstones was fully unleashed when they struck something hard, whether it was Morgana herself or the water's surface, and the Thundaja spell caused the water to steam. Morgana unleashed an unearthly scream as her body thrashed uncontrollably because of the spell, but she couldn't stop it or guard against it. It was over in a matter of seconds and Morgana collapsed onto the surface face down, where she floated, unmoving and smoking.

Rinally let out a whoop of victory and whirled to grin widely at Lorne. Her grin died as quickly as it had been born as she saw Lorne, human once again, collapsed on the iceberg she had made for them. He lay still and unmoving, pale and cold. Rin dropped to her knees beside him and reached for him, calling out his name.


	57. Chapter 57

Fifty-Six - Atlantica

Rinally sat beside Lorne on the deck of King Erik's ship, with Kaoru and Kai on his other side. Once they had defeated Morgana for good and Lorne had collapsed, Kaoru and Kai had come up to the iceberg Rinally and Lorne were on and began to push it through the water even as Rinally focused her Curaga spells on Lorne. They were met halfway by King Erik, Queen Ariel, and Melody in a new ship, along with a sizable force of mer-folk led by King Triton. King Triton and his people had immediately gone to where Kaoru and the rest had left Morgana's body and had retrieved it. King Triton had then used his trident to once more encase Morgana's body within a huge block of ice, and that now rested on a bier made of seaweed carried by four of King Triton's seahorses.

Kaoru told Rinally that King Triton knew of a place in the ocean where chasms were so deep, that no one would ever be able to find it again. To ensure that, Rinally had left Lorne's side long enough to put a spell of her own on the ice, making sure the Barrier spell she left would keep anything, including Darkness and Light, from escaping that prison.

Kaoru and Kai had come out of the water then, once more gaining their legs. Their transformation seemed to be much easier than Rin's, which meant that the world no longer needed them and they were free to leave. Rin returned Kaoru's coat, then returned to Lorne's side.

She had healed his physical wounds, but she couldn't do anything for something she couldn't see. So she sat beside him and held his hand, and when he woke up, she was the first person he saw.

"I want to see this world of yours," he said quietly, "where Darkness and Light are in balance."

"You will." Rinally replied. She patted her heart. "Because you'll be right here."

Lorne gave a weak smile. "I guess so."

Kaoru looked at Rinally with a sad expression. "There's nothing you can do?"

"No." Lorne answered, stopping Rin. "I knew what I was doing. I was already damaged after spending so much time locked inside Morgana, fueling her construct. The hit I took from her ice gave me some of my power back, but..." His shoulders shifted, as if he were shrugging. "I gave it all to Rinally. I used myself up."

"You sacrificed yourself." Kai said, his deep voice a night whisper.

"It seemed like a good idea."

Rinally used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears. "It's never a good idea to sacrifice yourself."

Lorne chuckled. "Don't cry. Just show me this world of yours."

"I will."

Lorne took a rattling breath. "But there's something I have to tell you three. Something important."

They looked at each other, and then Kaoru and Kai knelt beside Lorne to be closer to him, for his voice was weakening as was his breath. Rinally continued to hold his hand, knowing it was taking all of Lorne's strength to hold on this long.

"Ennio spun a good tale, about us destroying every last bit of Light and Darkness and installing ourselves as protectors and defenders." Lorne whispered. "The Brotherhood follows him without question, working to make an army of monsters that will destroy both Light and Darkness. They're not quite Heartless and they're not quite Nobodies, but something in between. You know about the black rods; those are the only way you can destroy them and release the hearts contained within the shells. If you ask anyone in the Brotherhood, they'll tell you this army is designed to kill off both Light and Darkness, all the Keyblade wielders, and all those who oppose the destruction of Light and Darkness."

"Haiku told us this." Kai said. "She said there was nothing we could do to stop it."

"Haiku knew what we all knew. But I found out the truth." Lorne looked at Kai. "Ennio doesn't want to destroy Light and Darkness. He wants to control them. It's the only way he can reach Kingdom Hearts and have the strength to control what's on the other side of that door."

"What's on the other side?" Kaoru asked.

Lorne shrugged weakly. "Who knows. But you need two keys to unlock Kingdom Hearts, and two keys to seal it. Sora and Riku sealed Kingdom Hearts long ago, and destroyed the false one that Organization XIII tried to create."

"But you need seven pure lights to even summon the door." Rinally protested. "Don't you? That's what I was told, when I was little."

"Ennio doesn't think so." Lorne said to Rin.

"Ennio has already collected enough data to control Darkness, that's why he's trying to control Light." Kaoru said. "He's going to try and fool Kingdom Hearts into revealing itself."

Lorne nodded. "Exactly. The Brotherhood isn't supposed to continue to exist after that happens. We're sacrifices, you see? Ennio planned on killing us all to act as one of the two keys to unlock Kingdom Hearts. It's the second key he can't seem to figure out. He's got his pet Keyblade wielder and Princess of Heart, but even with their help, he can't figure out how to fake the second Key. But he's close. That's why I... why I left... why I was trying to gain power. I didn't want to die."

The three teenagers were quiet as they watched Lorne, understanding his words and hating that his worst fear had come true. He had sacrificed himself to help them stop Morgana, and was going to die anyway. Lorne tugged on Rinally's hand to get her attention. She looked at him, tears welling in her eyes.

"Don't cry," Lorne whispered, "don't cry, okay, Rin? You saved me. You saved me from giving in completely to madness and Darkness. You showed me the Light."

Rinally rubbed her eyes, trying to dry them. "I didn't save you so you could die."

"Like you said, I'll be in your heart, so I won't really be dead."

Kaoru reached to take Lorne's other hand and held it tight. Lorne looked surprised that he would do something like that. Even Kai reached to set his hand over Kaoru's, earning another surprised look from Lorne. "Thank you, Lorne." Kaoru said.

Lorne blinked, smiled, and let out a soft laugh. Then his body burst into motes of Darkness and Light, and his heart, prismatic and crystalline, floated above the three of them for a moment before disappearing.

Rinally couldn't stop the sob that escaped her, and she soon found herself in a tight hug by Kaoru and Kai. The three of them held onto each other and Rinally cried. She hadn't understood in Edge why Kaoru and Kai had been so sullen after killing Haiku, but now she did. She hadn't directly killed Lorne, but she'd had a hand in his death, and so she was just as guilty of killing him as if she had struck him down with her own two hands.

When she calmed, Kaoru and Kai released her and sat with her on the deck of the ship, watching the waters pass as the ship returned to the harbor. After a minute, the three were approached by Melody, and Rinally introduced to her Kaoru and Kai. Melody gave each of them a bright smile, then hugged Rinally tightly.

The three spent that night in the castle, sharing a room because Rinally didn't want to be alone and Kaoru and Kai didn't want to leave her alone. After discussing the facts Lorne had given them with what they had already learned from their earlier encounters with the Brotherhood members, Ennio himself, and Hiromu, they had a good idea of what they would end up facing when they reached the end of their journey. They were scared - they'd either be stupid or foolish not to be scared - but they also knew they had to do it, because they were the only ones who could protect the connections they had made and protect their friends. That was what they had learned in Edge, and that was one truth they knew they could fight for without hesitation.

Early the next morning, once they had gotten confirmation from Queen Ariel that Morgana's iceberg was safely hidden in one of the deepest, darkest chasms that King Triton could find at that the chasm itself had been sealed by King Triton's order, they decided it was time to leave. Erik, Ariel, and Melody accompanied Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally to the open countryside outside the city where they could safely open a portal to the World Between Worlds without allowing Heartless to overrun the world. After saying their good-byes to the King and Queen, Rinally turned to Melody while Kaoru and Kai went to open the portal. Rin drew the princess into a tight hug.

"I'm going to miss you, Rinally," Melody said.

"I know. But we're never really going to be apart." Rin pulled back and tapped Melody's heart. "I'll always be right here."

"I hope that I can become a big sister," Melody said, "so I can tell my little sister all about you."

Rinally laughed. "Just try not to get into so much trouble, okay?"

"Okay."

They parted, and Rinally started toward Kaoru and Kai, where they waited for her half inside the World Between Worlds and half outside of it.

"Rin? I hope you find Yukari!" Melody called.

Rinally grinned at Melody, waved at her, and stepped into the portal. Kaoru and Kai followed, and the portal collapsed behind them, leaving them in the dimly lit world of eternal night.

"Who's Yukari?" Kaoru asked.

"My little sister." Rinally answered. She folded her hands behind her head and smiled. "Melody reminded me of her a little bit. They're the same age, but Yukari isn't quite as brave as Melody is."

"I'm sure we'll find her." Kai said. "We just have to keep moving forward."

Smiling, Rinally linked her hands with Kaoru and Kai, and the three of them started down the new path, drawing ever closer to the next world.


	58. Chapter 58

Fifty-Seven - Esthar

The portal deposited them into a wide barren wasteland.

Kaoru shielded his eyes from the sun and looked at the stretch of pale dusty ground that disappeared into the rippling horizon. He couldn't see anything from where he stood, and he couldn't see any rises in the terrain that would allow him to get a new vantage point. Kai and Rinally were also trying to see if there was anything in the directions they chose to look, but they too had the same results as Kaoru.

"So do we pick a direction and walk?" Kai asked.

"Well, we got all our supplies back from Edge, so it isn't like we would starve." Rinally pointed out.

"But we also don't want to wander forever until we reach the edge of the continent or run out of supplies." Kaoru said. "And nobody senses anything?"

Kai and Rinally shook their heads. "Not one damn thing." Kai said. "It's strange. It's like this place is completely... I don't know. Isolated. I don't even feel a breeze, but the temperature isn't sweltering, like it should be in a desert."

"I have an idea." Rinally started. "What if we waited until nightfall and see if we could see any lights? On a flat plane like this, with nothing breaking up the horizon, it should be real easy to see something like that."

"Nightfall might not be for some hours yet," Kaoru pointed out, "and anyway, what if this place doesn't have a true night? What if the sun stays out all the time?"

"Well, there are places like that, even in the Sky Islands, but only at a certain time of year."

"Which makes it likely that another world could share the same feature."

Kai quietly listened to Kaoru and Rin discuss their options. He stared at the rippling horizon, seeing the mirage for what it was. Even though the world seemed to defy all logic of a desert, it didn't change the fact that they were in one. Distance was deceptive. If they randomly chose a direction, they could end up walking forever without even seeing another soul. Or, they could walk right off a short cliff and take a long drop. Kai folded his arms over his chest, for once uncertain about what they should do.

"Well," Kai said at last, when Kaoru and Rin had fallen silent, "we can't afford to wait around. So we can either pick a direction and start walking and hope for the best, or we try and sense something out of the ordinary and walk that way."

"But I don't sense anything, even though I'm trying." Rinally protested.

Kaoru's answer was much the same, but he added, "I don't even see Light shining anywhere."

That gave Kai an idea, and all it took was a quick blink before the world's color bled away and left the monochrome shades that only Kai could see when he utilized his powers of Darkness. The mirage in the distance vanished as if it had never been, and the flat plane allowed him to see for miles. He wasn't looking for structures or for anything in particular, but when he spotted the multitude of hearts to their immediate north, he knew that something had to be there.

He blinked again and the world become technicolor again. Both Kaoru and Rin were watching him carefully, both wearing unsure expressions. Kai blew out a heavy sigh. "Remember when we were wandering around trying to find Edge? Kaoru asked me what I could see with my eyes when I tap into my powers of Darkness."

"You said you could see hearts." Kaoru said. Then his eyes widened as he realized what Kai had just done.

Rinally seemed to realize it too. "Did you see anything?"

"Yeah. To the north of us, there's thousands of hearts. It's the only high concentration of hearts in the entire vicinity, so I'm guessing it has to be a town or a city."

"That's amazing." Kaoru said, smiling brightly.

Kai felt a flush creeping up his neck at the praise from the small blonde. "I'd started thinking, what if I had been able to see Edge without you having to climb up on a rock to see lights that Rin and I couldn't see. I can see hearts with these eyes, so what if I could use them to find a high concentration?" He shrugged.

"Still, that's really amazing."

"I agree," said Rinally. Kai glowered at her, but she just beamed at him.

"Let's just start walking," Kai growled.

The three started heading north, but as the hours passed and the sun began to go down, they didn't seem to be any closer to the city. But as darkness spread across the sky and the moon and stars came out, another star appeared on the horizon, pulsing with light. It was the city Kai had spotted by looking for hearts. It was a huge, sprawling city lit up by bright lights that burned the darkness away and left a halo around the buildings. As they got closer, buildings began to resolve themselves out of the light, giant skyscrapers of silver metal and blue glass. The city was entirely criss-crossed by tubes of metal and glass, and they could see something sliding along inside the tubes, but they couldn't make out what it was.

"Wow," Kaoru breathed. "This completely rivals Paradise City in size, but it's so much more sophisticated."

"It looks almost like Lumina Cross." Kai said. "The design is a lot more, I don't know, elegant. Delicate."

"It looks like it was designed by aliens." Rinally stared back at Kaoru and Kai as they gave her a questioning look. "What? It does!"

"Come on." Kaoru took the lead then and the three of them headed into the city. It was bustling and busy, with people heading this way and that, laughing with each other. No one seemed to be in distress. No one seemed to be worried about potential danger. They were going about their lives as if there was absolutely nothing wrong. Those attitudes confused Kaoru, Kai and Rinally, for they were used to coming to a world whose need was innately obvious, like Tsenacommacah and Lumina Cross or became obvious after a while, like Edge and Atlantica.

This world seemed absolutely at peace.

No one even bothered to give them a second glance as they wandered around, either. No one stopped them from wandering around the city, not even a concerned citizen or a guard. The snippets of conversation they heard drove home the fact that they had arrived on a world that didn't need their Keyblades or magic. The city, Esthar, was completely safe, completely sealed off from the outside by a shield that camouflaged the city and surrounding land from unfriendly eyes. And if anything _did_ happen, then the President would take care of it.

"I wonder if we should go visit the President." Kaoru wondered aloud as he and Kai stood outside the shopping district, waiting for Rin. When she had spotted an equipment shop - and all the shops were simply terminals, with no humans running them at all - she immediately wanted to find a new staff for her to use. She had been at the shop for some time, but Kaoru didn't want to rush her. Only she knew what she needed, after all. "Maybe he might be able to give us a clue as to why we're here."

"I don't know. He might not have any idea." Kai responded.

"But it probably wouldn't hurt to see him."

"Probably not. But remember, Esthar is cut off from the outside world. How are we going to explain to him how we got here? We're not natives."

"Right. He may not know about Sora."

"There are thousands of worlds out there. Sora might not have visited them all, or if he did, he may have kept his presence concealed." Kai looked up as a flying disk soared by in a tube above their heads. "If we can keep a low profile too, it might be easier for us to move around. Easier for us to discover what it is that we're needed here for."

"Maybe it isn't Esthar that needs us, but somewhere outside of here." Kaoru tilted his head back to look at the greyish sky above the city. It glimmered slightly, proving it wasn't the real sky but the shield that kept Esthar safe from outsiders.

"Maybe." Kai agreed.

Rinally finally appeared, looking disappointed and completely without a staff. She joined her friends and sighed, fluffing her pink hair with her hands.

"Didn't find anything?" Kaoru asked.

"Oh, I found a lot. But nothing was right. I didn't feel anything when I held them. If a witch doesn't have a connection to her staff, then she can't use them as a focus to cast her spells. And it would take too long for me to forge that connection to a new staff. Besides, we don't have any money. I wouldn't be able to buy one even if I found a proper staff."

"So what are you going to do?"

Rinally shrugged. "I don't know. Thanks to Lorne, I got a feel for finer control of my spells. I'm not afraid that I'll destroy half a city block anymore if I use a high level spell. Hopefully, I won't have to cast something that big while we're here."

"Hopefully," Kai agreed.

"So, did you guys decide where we ought to go now?" Rinally asked as they started walking again.

"We thought about introducing ourselves to the President, but decided that would be a bad idea, considering Esthar is supposed to be cut off from the outside world." Kaoru said.

"Oh, yeah, right. Because we don't know for sure the President knows about the Keyblades and the Heartless, and if we let him know what we're doing here, we might mess up the balance of this world."

"We're here for a reason," Kai pointed out, "which means there's something going on here. Just because the city is in peace now doesn't mean it won't be later on. It's just like what we had to do in Edge. We need to find out why we're here."

Rinally made an agreeing noise. "But we can't just go around asking anyone."

"No, but we can find out information on our own. In a city this advanced, there has to be an information desk, or somewhere people go to find out news." Kaoru said. "Paradise City had cafés like that. People could go there and watch news programs that listed different events going on in the city and surrounding towns."

"Then let's go see if we can find a place like that." Kai gestured, and led his friends down the street, taking a turn down another street that brought them to a main thoroughfare.

They explored the city until their feet hurt and their legs felt like jelly. The night had also deepened, and people were starting to head to their homes. They finally found a sheltered underpass where they could rest without being spotted by the night guards that wandered the city or by anyone passing by. They shared a small meal and talked about subjects that didn't have anything to do with Rin's missing family, Hiromu, Tae, Ennio, or the Brotherhood. They didn't even talk about Sora or Riku or the Keyblades or the Heartless. Even Kai laughed at some of the things that were said. For a little while, they could pretend that they were normal teenagers who were defying the rules by staying out past curfew, and each one of them slept soundly without needing to fear that they would be attacked if one of them didn't stay up to keep watch for enemies.

When the sun rose the next morning, the three of them got up and started their search again. It was more fruitful this time, as the people they passed in the streets were more than willing to give the three teenagers directions when they asked if there was a place they could find news on recent events. They found themselves standing outside the Presidential Palace, staring up at the massive building with apprehensive looks on their faces.

"So," Kaoru started, "do we go in and see if anyone's willing to help us?"

"I much prefer standing out here looking like a bunch of lost tourists." Rinally quipped.

Kai sighed. "We aren't going to learn anything if we don't ask. We might as well go in and see if there's anything we can learn. We don't have to volunteer any information. For all the President knows, we're here from one of Esthar's schools doing a project."

"Do you think this place has schools?"

"Rin, everywhere has schools." Kai said dryly.

"Then let's go in," Kaoru said, "and let's see what we can learn."


	59. Chapter 59

Fifty-Eight - Esthar

The guards didn't even give them a passing glance as they headed into the palace. Upon stepping into the main lobby of the building, Kaoru could see why. There were guards everywhere. The strangely-uniformed soldiers stood at nearly every entrance that led deeper into the palace, but the lobby was filled with people. Men and women stood in groups, laughing or talking. Some held folders and binders, others held books, but all were dressed in the same outfit of long robes in varying colors. Kaoru felt very out of place standing there, but no one seemed to mind their presence, so Kaoru led his friends a little further into the lobby where they could find a place to stand that wasn't in the way, and where they could watch the goings on without seeming too suspicious.

"I think I see an information desk." Rin said. She pointed across the room to where a large, half-circle desk stood, manned by a young woman with brown-streaked black hair in a long blue sweater and a black jumpsuit. She didn't look that much older than seventeen, and it was clear she was bored, because she was leaning her chin on her hand and watching the crowd of people in the lobby with a completely disinterested stare.

"Should we go over there?" Kaoru wondered.

"Wouldn't hurt. Besides, she looks friendly enough."

"We should still be careful," Kai warned.

So it was with caution that the three wove their way toward the information desk and the young woman sitting behind it. When she spotted Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally, the young woman perked up a little bit, her eyes a warm honey gold as she studied each of them. She offered them a bright smile and leaned on her elbows.

"Hi!" she said brightly. "Welcome to the Presidential Palace. My name's Rinoa. What can I do for you?"

Kaoru blinked. A bright light shone from Rinoa, similar to the light he'd seen from Belle and from Tae. But he didn't get the feeling she was a Princess. Rather, he felt she was something else entirely. "Um, my name's Kaoru, and this is Kai and Rinally. We're, um, conducting some research and maybe you can help us."

Rinoa blinked. "Oh, research, huh? You must be Odine's new assistants then. He said he'd send some by sooner or later."

"Who's Odine?" Rinally asked.

Rinoa raised a brow and some of the warmth left her golden eyes. Kaoru glanced at Kai, and got confirmation about the same thing he had sensed. No, Rinoa wasn't just some secretary bored at her job; she was a fighter, and she was going on the defensive.

Hoping to diffuse the tension rising, Kaoru said, "No, we're not here for Odine. We're doing research on any strange events that have happened in Esthar. Have you noticed anything different or out of the ordinary?"

Rinoa relaxed a little then, curiosity appearing on her face. "Is this for some school project or something?"

Kaoru nodded, not trusting himself to answer verbally. He had never been a very good liar, and since Rin and Kai weren't chiming in, it was up to him to try and sell their story to Rinoa. "We were walking around the city all day trying to find something worth investigating."

Rinoa tapped her fingertips against her lips. "Well, nothing _interesting_ has happened. Esthar is protected by the OCS, the Optical Camouflage System, so nothing from the outside can come in. And it's been pretty peaceful for a long while. There was an incident a while back, but it was kept all very quiet. Only the President and his advisors and a few other people know about it."

Kaoru canted his head to the side. "I suppose you know about it?"

Rinoa grinned. "Of course. I was there."

"What happened?"

"Well, a few months ago, the OCS malfunctioned. That isn't supposed to happen, but it did. Anyway, this little girl appeared out of nowhere, just floating down from the sky. Odine immediately started calling her a sorceress, which around here, is kind of a bad term, but President Loire said that there was no way the girl could be a sorceress as there's only one around here, and that's me. But he called me anyway, and I tested the girl, and she's got about as much magical ability as the rest of us, but nowhere near my level."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaoru saw Rinally tense. In response to her reaction, Kaoru straightened a little more himself. He looked into Rinoa's eyes and asked, "Where is that little girl now?"

The wariness returned to Rinoa's eyes. "You three are from the outside, aren't you?" she asked, her voice low. "Don't deny it. I saw your faces when I mentioned the OCS. Anyone from Esthar already knows what that is. No one would react with blank faces like you did."

Kaoru looked at Kai and Rinally. Kai lifted his shoulders in a shrug, but turned to keep an eye on the guards. Rinally did the same, but Kaoru knew she was intently listening to Rinoa. He knew she wasn't about to speak up; the mysterious little girl appearing from the sky might not be her sister Yukari, but she was hoping it was. Rinoa's eyes flicked to Kai and Rin and Kaoru saw the moment she sized them up and considered her likelihood of victory if she fought them.

Laying his hands flat on the desk, Kaoru leaned closer to Rinoa. "Do you know anything about the Keyblade?"

Rinoa stilled and stared at Kaoru with wide eyes. Then she glanced around the lobby as if she was trying to see if anyone else had heard him. She leaned forward and put a finger to her lips. "Go back outside to the front of the Palace. I'll meet you there in five minutes. Don't talk to anyone else and don't draw attention to yourselves."

"Wait." Kai said, turning to face her. "How can we trust you?"

"Because you don't have any choice." Rinoa replied, her tone even. "And I haven't called the guards to arrest you yet. I promise, I'll meet you outside in five minutes, and I will come alone."

Kaoru touched Kai's arm and tilted his head. The redhead glowered at Rinoa for a minute longer, then turned and followed Kaoru and Rin out of the Palace lobby and back into the street. Kai insisted on placing themselves close to an exit where they could easily run - or jump, as Rin pointed out, and she could float them down with an Aero spell - and waited for Rinoa. Five minutes later, as promised, Rinoa came trotting out of the palace, smiling at the guards and giving a little bit of a conversation, raising her hands as if to stop them from following her. She shook her head, gave them a brilliant smile, and then waved at them as she walked with purpose toward Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally. As if to sell whatever story she had told the guards, she embraced each of them in a tight hug, like one would do to a friend.

"Come with me." Rinoa said. She began to walk down the left hand street, and Kaoru hurried to catch up. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Rinoa said, "So you guys know about the Keyblade?"

"We asked you that question first." Kai said.

Rinoa nodded. "Yes, well, I wouldn't say we know the Keyblade Masters personally, but we've heard of them. I mean, who hasn't? But anything more than stories only the President and his advisors know, which makes it very interesting that you guys know about it. That tells me you three aren't from Esthar, and somehow you were able to get through the OCS without triggering any alarms."

"We're Keyblade wielders." Kaoru said, keeping his voice low. "Me and Kai, anyway. Rinally is-"

"A sorceress." Rinoa interrupted. "I felt it the moment you entered the Palace."

Rinally folded her arms over her chest and stared at Rinoa. "How could you? No one else was able to tell."

"That's because they don't know what to look for. And these people have a preconceived notion of what a sorceress is supposed to look like. Now, if you had done something flashy, then yeah, everyone would be screaming and saying you were the cause of whatever problem just happened."

"Is that why Odine was calling that little girl a sorceress?" Rinally asked. "Because she did something flashy?"

"She just arrived in a flashy way." Rinoa waved her hand dismissively. "Odine's the kind of guy to scream 'fire' in a crowded theater if it would get him what he wanted. He's been doing research on sorceresses his entire life, and if I wasn't under the protection of President Loire himself, I'm sure I'd be Odine's newest guinea pig. I'm sure if that little girl wasn't under President Loire's protection, and always hanging out with his daughter, Odine would attempt to abduct her and study her, too. If he found out you were a sorceress, and you two were Keyblade wielders, he'd be drooling at the chance to "study" you."

Kaoru shivered despite the warmth in the air. "I suppose we should avoid Odine then."

"If he tries to lay a hand on me, I'll rip them off." Kai growled.

"Don't you mean-"

"I mean what I say, Kaoru."

Both Rinoa and Rinally looked a little green, but Rinoa recovered first and said, "I don't think you'll have to worry overmuch about Odine. I don't know what you guys are doing here, but I'm sure it'll probably be important, so the President won't let him get at you."

"So why did you want to meet us alone?" Rinally asked. "Especially if you were going to introduce us to the President?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were what I thought you were, and I didn't want to get into a fight if it could be avoided. I wasn't certain if I was going to introduce you at first, either." Rinoa clasped her hands together and stretched her arms above her head, as if she were loosening up for some kind of strenuous activity. "I have a responsibility to Esthar as its sorceress, and I have a responsibility to protect the President, since he's protecting me."

Kai blew out a long sigh. "If you were just going to decide that, we didn't need to go on this long walk."

"Oh, yes, we did." Rinoa replied, her lips twisting into a bright smile. "Come on, keep up now."

Glancing at each other, Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally decided to be ready for the absolute worst. Rinally readied a spell but held it in check and Kaoru and Kai were ready to call their Keyblades to their hands. They didn't know what Rinoa was leading them into and they didn't want to be caught off guard. They followed her wordlessly, glancing about the streets and the people walking or riding floating disks in the skyway. People seemed to recognize Rinoa and some waved at her, smiled at her, and asked her random questions while others quickened their pace, glowered at her, or ignored her completely. Kaoru noticed that the latter reactions made the Light Rinoa shined with dim slightly, as if the reactions hurt her heart.

He matched her stride to come alongside her and asked, "I guess not everyone likes you?"

"It's the fact I'm a sorceress." Rinoa said. "See, a long time ago, Esthar city was ruled by a very cruel sorceress named Adel. She kidnapped lots of children in order to find a successor for her powers, but none of them ever came back. She also mistreated her own people to the point that they decided on a revolution. The President was the leader of that revolution, and it was thanks to him and his friends that Adel was defeated at last. They sealed her in a special prison and put her somewhere no one would ever be able to find her. But because of what Adel did, the people of Esthar don't trust sorceresses. It's only because they love President Loire, and because I helped protect Esthar from another bad sorceress, Ultimecia, that they tolerate me."

"Were you born a sorceress?" Rinally asked.

Rinoa shook her head. "No. I inherited my powers from a sorceress named Edea. She was my teacher, and when Ultimecia came to Esthar, Edea fought her to protect us and the city. But the sorceress was too powerful for her alone, and she was badly wounded. Edea transferred her powers to me so that Ultimecia couldn't take them from her, and I, with the help of the President and his friends, managed to beat Ultimecia so that she could be sealed away, too."

"What did they do with her?"

"She's sealed in the Sorceress Memorial. It's under constant guard, so no one gets any ideas about releasing her. They'd be killed before they even got close. Only the President can go there, and anyone who accompanies him has to get clearance."

Kaoru exchanged looks with Rinally and Kai. "Rinoa," Kaoru started, "have you ever heard of an organization called the Brotherhood?"

"Have I heard of-"

Rinoa's response was cut off as a massive explosion rocked the city. Kaoru threw up his arms to shield his face from the cloud that suddenly engulfed them, and his armor appeared on his arm and hand, glimmering with prismatic light. He went to his hands and knees as the street they were on suddenly shook violently. Cracks appeared in the concrete, and all around him he could hear people screaming. When the dust cloud cleared, Kaoru got to his feet and rushed to the edge of the street, where he could see the entirety of the city. His eyes went wide for a second with recognition, then he pulled himself up onto the edge of the wall and summoned Guardian to his hand.

He half turned to look at Kai and Rinally and shouted to them, "It's a Heartless! Kai, if we jump, we can get there faster. Rin, stay with Rinoa, and try to get people evacuated! Once you do that, join us, okay?"

"Okay!" Rinally shouted back. "Just be careful!"

"We will!" Kaoru promised. Then he turned his attention back onto the Heartless smashing its way through the city streets, certain he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where. He pushed it to the back of his mind, knowing he didn't have the time to think too heavily about it.

Kai joined him on the railing, his armor gleaming with darkness. Sanctuary appeared in his hand, giving off a diffuse glow from its proximity to Guardian. Guardian, too, began to give off a diffuse glow as if in reaction. Without giving each other a signal, the two Keyblade wielders leaped from the street to the one below, then to the one below that, and the one below that, until they were on the same level as the Heartless. They each took a breath, adjusted their grips on their Keyblades, and started forward at a swift pace, racing toward the giant monster that was slamming its tusks into nearby buildings in its rampage.


	60. Chapter 60

Fifty-Nine - Esthar

"Come on." Rinally said to Rinoa, reaching to tug the older woman's hand. "We have to make sure everyone gets away safely."

"They really _are_ Keyblade wielders." Rinoa said with wonder. Then she shook herself and took a deep breath. "Will they be okay?"

"They'll be fine." Rinally assured her. "They've fought worse than a Heartless, and even if they aren't, the faster we can finish our job, the sooner I can get to them and back them up."

Rinoa nodded and a thoughtful look appeared on her face. The two of them moved quickly to come to the aid of the people who had been on the street when the Heartless had first attacked, making sure they were in one piece and not terribly wounded. Rinoa instructed them to get to the Presidential Palace as fast as they could, and to spread the word to anyone else they met. As they moved from group to group, Rinally did her best to cast small Cure spells on the worst of the wounds without being seen. If anyone questioned their miraculous healing, they'd assume Rinoa had done so, or so Rinally hoped. As soon as they reached a set of stairs leading down to the next level, Rinally left Rinoa and the Estharian guards to direct the traffic of panicking citizens, and took the stairs down two at a time until she reached a place that she could safely jump from.

"Rinally!"

Rin paused to look up at Rinoa, who was leaning over the railing, waving her hand. "What?" Rinally called back.

"I'll keep the Estharian soldiers away! Don't worry about mitigating damage, okay?"

 _Won't Kai enjoy that news._ Rin gave Rinoa a thumbs up, then ran to join Kaoru and Kai. As she ran through chunks of fallen buildings and shattered glass, she could hear the sonorous bellows of something huge and mean and really, really, really angry. She ducked through a side alley, then jerked back into it to avoid a massive leg as it swung by her. She was thrown into dark shadow as the Heartless passed her, and she emerged out into the street behind it.

"Holy crap," Rinally breathed. She had seen this Heartless before, but she couldn't quite remember where.

It was a huge Behemoth-like Heartless, with six legs and four thin whipping tails. A massive trunk rolled down its face and two massive tusks protruded from its mouth. As the tails whipped around in the air, they left rents in buildings and the streets, chasms created by the triangular shapes at the end of each tail.

It swung its head toward a swiftly moving shape, trying to beat it back with its trunk. The shape resolved itself into Kai, who nimbly leaped the attack and slammed Sanctuary into the trunk in retaliation. He made five successive hits, then dropped to the ground and dodged a tusk as it came rushing toward him. On the other side, Kaoru was rebounding off a building at the Heartless's face, Guardian cutting into its angular face to bring its attention back to him.

The two Keyblade wielders traded offensive attacks, doing their best to keep the Heartless from moving any deeper into the city. As one went in for the attack, the other would distract the Heartless, gaining its attention so the attacker wouldn't have to worry about an unexpected surprise. _Where have I seen this before? Where have I seen this Heartless before? I know I've seen it before. I_ know _I have._ Pushing it to the back of her mind, Rinally readied herself for battle and started running forward to help her friends.

Seeing Rinally coming in from behind the Heartless, Kaoru launched into a flurry of attacks, slamming Guardian into the Heartless's trunk as hard as he could. Nearby, Kai went into a combo that cut at the Heartless's first leg near its knee, trying to stop its forward momentum. Kai quickly disengaged to avoid being slapped away by a tusk as the Heartless swung its head, but Kaoru wasn't so lucky. He tried to disengage, but he was a second too slow. The Heartless's trunk surged up as it tossed its head to the side, and the trunk hit Kaoru hard. It flung him over the Heartless's head, where he hit its back and rolled off the other side. He landed hard on the ground, gasping as pain radiated up his side. He didn't have time to focus on that pain, though, as one of the Heartless's legs swung forward to try and crush him. He shoved himself to the side and rolled out of the way, but he still felt the wind of its passing. Staring up at the Heartless from the ground, Kaoru at last recognized where he had seen this Heartless before.

It was the Heartless that had attacked him and Rinally when they first entered the Paths of Darkness and the world between worlds.

Then Rin was beside him and cool healing magic coursed through him, soothing his pain until it was gone. Kaoru pushed himself upright and summoned Guardian again, watching Kai harry the Heartless with quick strikes, blinking in and out of sight as he sought to keep the Heartless from moving deeper into Esthar. Kai spun around in the air to avoid one of the whipping tails, then dug Sanctuary into the Heartless's side as he started to fall, arresting his momentum as his Keyblade stuck in its hide. He kicked himself free and hit the ground, then launched into another series of attacks that were focused on the monster's hind leg, trying to sever tendons.

"It's that Heartless that attacked us, do you remember?" Kaoru asked Rinally as they started toward the Heartless.

"I remember." Rin responded in a tone that indicated she wished she didn't. "We weren't able to fight it then."

"We weren't as strong as we are now back then."

She barked out a laugh. "I guess so. Rinoa and I evacuated everyone, but we can't let it get any deeper into Esthar. We have to make it turn around."

"How?"

Rinally threw a Curaga spell toward Kai as he landed by them. The Heartless continued to rampage forward, now ignoring the three teenagers as it smashed its way through buildings.

"Nothing we do is bothering it." Kai growled. "If we keep attacking it, it's going to kill us through sheer stubbornness."

"You don't need to attack it." Rinally said. "I think I have a spell that will get its attention. If we can get it to chase us out of the city, then we can really go all out. Do you guys have enough energy to enter your Knight modes?"

Kaoru and Kai nodded. They hadn't wanted to use their forms unless they had no other choice, considering their enhanced power could very well destroy the city far worse than the Heartless was already doing. But outside the city, where there was nothing that could be destroyed inadvertently, then the two of them could really stand a chance of winning.

"Okay then." Rinally shook out her hands and set her feet. "Get ready to run."

Holding onto their Keyblades, Kaoru and Kai stood just slightly behind Rinally, balanced and ready to move the moment she gave the order.

Thanks to her connection with Lorne for the moment it took for her to cast her Thundaja spell that defeated Morgana, Rinally had learned from Lorne exactly how much energy certain spells needed. He had also gifted to her everything that he had known about magic, along with spells Rinally hadn't even learned yet from her own teacher. While she knew of the existence of these other spells, her knowledge - and confidence - had been limited to the three levels of healing spells - Cure, Cura, and Curaga - the four levels of elemental spells - Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, and Aero, and her sole shielding spell, Barrier. But she had the confidence now to try a spell she had never cast before, a spell that she had read about in her textbook in class but had never been allowed to actually learn its nuances.

She raised her hands above her head and concentrated hard on summoning to her the deep blue flames of the Flare spell.

The air around her hands began to ripple with intense heat. Blue sparks appeared in the rippling air, coming faster and faster as Rinally fed power into her spell. She could almost hear Lorne whispering in her ear exactly how to manipulate the energy, to give to the spell just the right amount of power and not let it get away from her. A second later, the sparks ignited into flame, and the white and blue flames coalesced around her upraised hands and arms, flickering and snapping.

"Get ready." Rin said to her friends. She brought her arms down gently, almost in mockery of the spell's intensity, and then focused on her target. She held onto the Flare for a second longer, then unleashed it with a fierce, defiant cry.

The Flare sped toward its target, a streak of blue fire that seemed more a meteor than a ball of intense fire. The blue flames hit the Heartless on its backside and burst into a giant conflagration. The flames adhered to the Heartless's skin and began to burn away its hide, sinking deeper into its flesh. It howled with pain and thrashed around, trying to put out the Flare spell that was causing it such agony. Its beady eyes focused then on the three teenagers and there was a flash of recognition there as the Heartless looked down upon Kaoru and Rinally. Then it let out a deafening bellow, shook itself hard to free itself of the Flare like a dog freeing its coat of water, and took one thundering step forward after another until it was bulling its way toward the three.

Kaoru turned and ran as fast as he could down the street. Kai and Rinally were right beside him, keeping pace. They didn't have to look over their shoulders to see if the Heartless was following; the thunder of its steps told them everything they needed to know. The street they were on was a straight shot out of the city, being that it was a main thoroughfare, and as soon as they were past the last of the buildings, the three of them split up. Kaoru and Kai continued to run forward as Rinally dove to the side and threw a Barrier around herself in the event the Heartless came after her and tried to crush her. She rolled back to her feet just as the monster crashed through the buildings and bulled toward Kaoru and Kai. Dust billowed over Rin, shielding her from the Heartless's eyes, which protected her from being beat by those whipping tails.

Then the beast was distracted from her by twin bullets of black and white, as Kaoru and Kai in their White Knight and Black Knight forms launched into the first salvo of their empowered attacks.

As the two of them continuously struck at the Heartless's head and sides and back, Rinally focused on its tails and legs. Without her witch's staff, she couldn't rely on spells like the Flare she had used earlier; she had to use spells that were quick and easy and familiar, like her Firaga, Thundaga, and Blizzaga, along with Aero and Barrier. She attacked from a distance, while Kaoru and Kai pounded away at the Heartless's face, trunk, and body. Rinally threw Curaga spells toward Kaoru and Kai when they took a particularly hard hit or when she thought that they needed it.

Kai launched into his Nightmare Raid and struck at the Heartless's legs. The hide there was thicker than anywhere else, but with his speed and power enhanced by his Black Knight mode, he was able to slice through the skin and meat beneath with two hits rather than four. He had to concentrate on a single leg at a time, but once he was able to expose the tendons and cut through them, the Heartless could no longer stand. It screamed as it toppled over to its side, and Kai jumped high into the air in order to finish off his move. He didn't get the chance. One of the four tails whipped in and caught him broadside, knocking the air out of him and slamming him into the ground. Pain radiated up his side, hot and searing, and Kai spat out blood. He tried to leverage himself up with Sanctuary, but his arm wouldn't work. He glanced down to see it bent at an awkward angle, his fingers still weakly wrapped around Sanctuary's hilt.

A shadow fell over him and he looked up to see the tail that had hit him coming in for him again.

Then Kaoru was there, his Holy Shield glimmering around them both to stop the whipping tail from smashing Kai into the ground again. Kaoru sucked in a breath at the shock of the blow against his shield, but didn't waver. The tails continued to beat on his shield of Light, but they weren't able to break through. The Heartless tried to get its legs under it several times, but continuously failed because of the wounds Kai had inflicted upon it. Then, surprisingly, it managed to succeed, pushing itself up to its knees. It locked its eyes upon Kaoru and Kai and let out a bellow.

"Kaoru!" Rinally yelled. She threw up a Barrier around him and Kai, surrounding his Holy Shield, which allowed him to drop it. She slid to her knees beside Kai and immediately placed her hands over his arm, a green glow appearing beneath her palms. "Why isn't it dead yet?"

"I don't know." Kaoru responded. "It's strong."

Kai laughed softly and winced as his bones began shifting back into place. "We need to find its weak point."

"It doesn't seem to have a weak point."

"Everything has a weak point."

Kaoru stared at the Heartless, trying to find something, anything, that could give them a clue as to how to stop it. It looked just like the Behemoth he had seen when he was little, but he hadn't seen a black rod like that Behemoth had. He and Kai had wounded the Heartless to the point it couldn't move, but it was still dangerous. Its tails were still flashing around in the air, occasionally slamming down onto Rinally's Barrier. It made her flinch each time, but she didn't stop healing Kai, dividing her attention in a way Kaoru had never seen her do before. As soon as she was finished with Kai, she stood up and moved beside Kaoru, with Kai soon appearing on his other side.

"It doesn't have a rod in it," Kaoru said.

"Which means the Brotherhood isn't controlling it." Kai replied.

"But that doesn't mean they didn't unleash it. Kaoru and I saw this thing when we first went into the Paths of Darkness. We ran from it, and that's how we ended up in Belle's world. But we haven't seen it since, and we've traveled through there so many times after that."

"Which means it must've ended up somewhere, too." Kaoru's eyes flicked over the Heartless's entire form. Could the Heartless have ended up with the Brotherhood? If it had, why didn't it have a black rod inside it? "This Heartless is a distraction. The Brotherhood is here, and this Heartless is serving as a distraction."

"But why?" Kai asked. "Why let it loose without being able to control it?"

"Because they want to buy time." Rinally said. "If it's rampaging in the city, all of Esthar's guards will be called to fight it. If they're fighting the Heartless, then they're too focused on protecting the citizens and not on what the Brotherhood is after. So this Heartless has no black rod. It doesn't have a controlling factor because it doesn't need to _be_ controlled."

The Heartless let out a terrible bellow and slammed one of its wounded legs into the ground, trying to rise. Its tails lashed out, striking the Barrier and the ground nearby and gouging deep furrows into the earth.

Kaoru tightened his grip on Guardian. "The longer we deal with this Heartless, the closer the Brotherhood gets to what it wants. We have to find a way to defeat it."

"How much longer can you guys keep your modes?" Rinally asked.

"Not too much longer." Kaoru answered. He was already feeling exhausted, and this was only the third time he had entered into his White Knight mode. Kai made a noise that Kaoru took to be agreeing, although the redhead had far more practice with his Black Knight mode than Kaoru had.

"Then let's find a way to kill this thing." Rinally said. "It might take both Guardian and Sanctuary finding its "heart" to kill it."

"Do you see anything, Kai?" Kaoru asked.

"Not a damn thing. This one's true to its name. It doesn't have a heart." Kai's Heartless eyes swept up and down the length of the Heartless. "I can't make out any weak points either."

Rin inhaled sharply as the whipping tails beat on her Barrier. It began to crack from the outside in. "I can't hold this for much longer." she warned, her voice strained.

"Then we wing it." Kaoru said. He readied Guardian and wrapped an arm around Rinally's waist. She wrapped both her arms around his shoulders and Kai took a step forward, twirling Sanctuary in his hand.

As soon as Rinally dropped her Barrier, the two Keyblade wielders burst apart. Kai sped toward the Heartless, Sanctuary flashing to stop the tails from impaling him while Kaoru leaped away, setting Rin down at a safe distance before he returned to the fight to help Kai. The whole while, Kaoru searched for a weak point, searched for a place on the Heartless's form that could be exploited to kill the thing, but he couldn't find one on the exterior. With a sinking feeling, he realized there could only be one other place a weak point could be, and that was on the inside.

The Heartless's hide was too thick to penetrate, and they didn't have the time it would take to do so. He could only sustain his White Knight mode for another five minutes, maybe ten. Kai probably had a little longer. Rin was growing exhausted too. Even as she consumed mana potions to keep her strength up, each successive high-level spell was taking its toll on her. Without her staff to mitigate some of the fallout of her spells, her body was taking the brunt of the energy. It would only be a matter of time before it gave out on her. So Kaoru formulated a quick plan, prayed he was right, and when Kai managed to sever one of the whiplike tails of the Heartless, Kaoru ran for its yawning mouth.

He heard Kai call his name, then felt Kai chasing him. That was good, Kaoru decided. Hopefully, Kai would catch on and protect Kaoru from the Heartless's retaliation, or Kaoru would find himself quickly on the defensive. The Heartless whipped its un-severed tails in toward the two boys, but Kai proved faster, catching two with Sanctuary's hook blade and cutting them apart. The Heartless roared in pain, its maw opening wide to reveal nothing but pitch black darkness. Kaoru beelined for it, and leaped into the cavern before the Heartless could close its mouth. He faintly heard Kai cursing, but he didn't try to come after Kaoru. Instead, he began to rain heavy-handed blows on the Heartless's head and trunk, keeping it distracted from the boy inside it.

It was pitch black, dank, and smelly. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand, but it really didn't help. Still, it was all Kaoru could do to keep from gagging. Frantically, he searched for what he prayed he was going to find. Looking up, he saw it. A faintly glowing orb that pulsed a sickly green darkness. Readying Guardian, Kaoru leaped from the floor of the Heartless's mouth to the roof of it, slamming his Keyblade into the orb repeatedly in several swift combos. When he landed, it was only for a minute so he could catch his breath. The Heartless opened its mouth to let out a rotten-meat-smelling roar that blasted Kaoru out of the cavern. Kai was there in an instant, catching his partner and holding them both suspended in the air for a minute with his powers of Darkness.

"Do you see it?" Kaoru cried, pointing at the orb at the roof of the Heartless's mouth, which was now spewing darkness like a water hose full of holes.

"I see it." Kai growled. "How do we destroy it?"

They hit the ground, balancing for a moment as they supported each other. Then they parted, and stood shoulder to shoulder.

"Can you bring me with you when you do Nightmare Raid?" Kaoru asked.

Kai considered for a moment, then shrugged. "It's worth a shot. After all, we're winging it, right?" Kaoru gave him an unsure-but-game smile. Kai wrapped his arm around Kaoru's chest, holding him close but not restricting him. Then he called upon his powers of Darkness, and the motes that acted like a cloak and wings encircled him and Kaoru, lifting them off the ground by a few inches. "Whatever you do, Kaoru, don't let go of me."

Kaoru didn't answer. Instead, he tightened his arm around Kai's waist. The instant after that, Kai burst forward with unimaginable speed. To Kaoru, the world was a blur; to anyone watching, it must have seemed like they just flickered out of existence. Then they were in the Heartless's mouth, and their two Keyblades struck the orb on the first pass. Kai abruptly stopped and switched direction, moving like lightning back toward their target. They hit it four more times in succession before Kai finished the combo by stabbing Sanctuary deep into the orb. Kaoru, still holding onto Kai, lifted Guardian and thrust the Keyblade into the orb alongside Sanctuary.

The two Keyblades suddenly burst into bright light and deep darkness, the two colors twining into a shimmering ribbon that swirled around the orb before piercing through the orb straight up, through the Heartless's head. Kai and Kaoru held tightly to each other as that ribbon of Light and Darkness swirled around them again as it came back through the Heartless and shot out another side. Over and over, their combined attack rushed one way then another, until it wrapped around Kaoru and Kai and enveloped them in a cocoon of white and black. Their Keyblades materialized in their hands, and on instinct, the two of them thrust their Keyblades at each other, nearly piercing each other's hearts as they did. Then, with a quick spin so they ended up back to back, they cut the cocoon in half, and the moment they did, the combined power exploded outward, taking with it the Heartless's shell that surrounded them.

They hung suspended for a minute, held aloft by the last vestiges of their White and Black Knight power, and then they dropped the last five feet to the ground, landing lightly and still back to back. Around them, the last bits of their attack dissipated into gold and violet motes, spiraling off into the sky.

Kaoru let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Wow."

Kai made an equally impressed sound. "I didn't know we could do that."

"That was freaking amazing!" Rinally shouted as she ran up to them. She checked her speed and came to stand beside them, a shocked smile on her face. "How did you _do_ that?"

Kaoru lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Nightmare Raid."

"No way was that Nightmare Raid, not if the two of you did it together." Rinally tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think I'm gonna call that combo 'Radiant Night'."

Kai stared at her for a minute, and Kaoru thought that he was going to argue with her. Then he shook his head and ran his fingers through his red hair. "Fine. Then I'll call the combo the three of us do with our Keyblades and your Thunder spells 'Tempest'."

Rin grinned widely. "You know, I actually like that one."

The ground shook fiercely beneath their feet suddenly, and Kaoru caught Rin before the tremors threw her to the ground. Kai whirled around to face the west, his shoulders tensing and his fists clenching. A second after, he took off running. Kaoru didn't question him and Rin didn't call after him. Instead, the two gave chase, for they could now feel what Kai must have felt the moment the earth shook: an immense darkness and evil that threatened to shatter the very fabric of the world.


	61. Chapter 61

Sixty - Esthar

They were too late.

The three of them stopped running when the destroyed building came within sight. The massive structure looked as though it had been ripped apart by some monster. The metal the building had been built with was torn and bent in all sorts of ways, destroyed by a massive explosion and then yanked back by some kind of superhuman beast. Fires burned bright within the building and without, and wires sparked and jumped, snapping and popping as the exposed ends touched open air or each other.

Kaoru threw up his arm to protect his face as another explosion erupted from the building. The heat washed over him with startling intensity and it hurt to breathe for a second. Even Kai and Rin turned away from the blast of heat, shielding their faces. When it passed, the three of them looked back at the building, but they couldn't make themselves move forward. There was no way anyone survived such a terrible catastrophe, and neither Kaoru nor Kai could sense anything except the overlying rage and hate and evil that saturated the very earth on which they stood.

"This is what the Brotherhood was after," Kaoru said softly. "Whatever that was in this building, they were after."

"But they've never been this obvious before." Rinally said. She flung her arm wide, as if to encompass the scope of the destruction. "Look at this! They've all been about subtlety and keeping their actions on the down low. They've never once tried to get the attention of the entire world! Ennio only interacted with Gaston and his evil little imp. Even on Tsenacommacah, only Ratcliffe knew about the Brotherhood because he was the only one they interacted with. They never revealed themselves like this!"

Kai rubbed his jaw with the palm of his hand. "So what was here that was so important they had to destroy everything?"

"That," came the tenor voice of a man from behind them, "is, or was, the Sorceress Memorial."

The three of them whirled around to see a small group of people standing behind them. One of them was Rinoa, who stood between a tall, whipcord thin, dark-skinned man, and a large, bulky man who wore a blue bandana around his head and had a long scar running down his face. Kaoru didn't think that man needed much help to lift a car up off its back wheels. Another was the man who had spoken, a tall brunette man whose hair was pulled into a loose ponytail over one shoulder. He wore slacks and a button-down dress shirt, and looked more like a kindly father than a warrior. At least, when Kaoru compared him to the two men standing near Rinoa. The next member of the group was a young woman in a khaki skirt and orange sleeveless top, with a green shawl wrapped around her shoulders and arms. She shared the same brunette coloring as the man, but their features didn't favor each other as well as their coloring did.

At some unspoken signal, soldiers surrounded the three teenagers, pointing strange-looking guns at them.

Kaoru immediately put his hands up, as did Rin. Kai folded his arms over his chest and settled for staring at the brunette man.

The brunette man continued, "A very powerful, very evil sorceress was locked away inside there. She was supposed to remain there forever, under lock and key, never to be freed. And now, here we find three strangers to this world standing in front of that sorceress's prison."

"Laguna," started Rinoa, "you can't honestly believe-"

Laguna held up a hand and silenced her. "I can't ignore what everyone saw, Rinoa. That girl used a spell only a sorceress can use. And continued using such spells to fight off that monster. And those two boys, everyone saw their armor and how they fought. Two Knights and a Sorceress." He shook his head.

"They're _Keyblade_ wielders." Rinoa protested. "I _told_ you that. You can't just go treating them like they're evil monsters after they just killed that thing! You're the one who wanted to meet them!"

"That was before this!" Laguna snapped. "How do you know these three aren't the ones who destroyed the Sorceress Memorial? They're here and Ultimecia is not."

"Because I trust them, Laguna. If they were the ones who unleashed that monster on Esthar and wanted to steal Ultimecia's Coffin, do you _really_ think they'd fight so hard to kill it? Or that they would still be standing here, out of breath, pretty much powerless, once they had gotten what they were after?"

"Rinoa-"

"Rinally might be a sorceress, but she's not evil! And Kaoru and Kai might be her Knights, but they're not evil, either!"

"Rinally?"

Rin stiffened. Such a tiny question, posed in that a tiny voice she would recognize anywhere. Her heart fluttered in her chest, a rapid beat borne of hope and wonder and fear. She didn't answer, too afraid that it might be a nightmare and she was about to wake up and all would be lost to the dream world.

Then a girl, no more than twelve, peeked out from behind the woman in the khaki skirt. Her hair was the same wild pink as Rinally's, but her eyes were more sunset red than Rinally's maroon. Those sunset red eyes widened, then filled with tears.

"RINALLY!" the girl cried, breaking away from the woman who tried to hold her fast. She crossed the distance between the two groups quickly, only to be met halfway by Rinally.

"Yukari!" Rinally wrapped the girl in a tight hug, pulling her close in a fierce hold. Yukari burst into tears, her fingers gripping tight to Rin's tank top, her knuckles turning white from the force of her hold. Rinally was crying too, unable to keep her emotions in check. Finally, Rin pulled back. "Thank the stars, Yukari, you're okay!"

Yukari sniffled and nodded, and, still holding tight to her sister, turned to look at Laguna and his group. "Mister Laguna, Ellie, Rinnie, this is my sister! She's the one I was telling you about!"

Laguna looked startled, as did the brunette woman. Rinoa only smiled widely.

Kai leaned closer to Kaoru. "You think that's really her sister?"

Kaoru smiled. "It's her. Rin's heart would recognize her sister anywhere." The sight of the sisters' reunion was a little bittersweet for Kaoru. He still vividly remembered how his own reunion with his friends went, and how terribly that ended. "It's amazing she ended up here when the Sky Islands were destroyed."

"Hn. Perhaps Yukari's a Princess of Heart, too."

Kaoru shook her head. "She has Light in her, but not as much Light as a Princess. I think it's because Yukari's still a little girl. She's only twelve."

Kai only made a noise. His eyes remained on Laguna and his group, even as the soldiers posed the more likely threat.

Holding tight to Rinally's hand, Yukari stood bravely with her sister, as if daring Laguna to try something. "My sister is a really, really nice sorceress." Yukari said. "I mean, she yells at me sometimes, but that's what sisters do, right?"

Laguna looked back at the two other men, who gave him a helpless shrug. When he looked at Rinoa, she just gave him a smug look in return. Finally, Laguna blew out a long sigh. "I guess we have some talking to do." He shook his head. "Lower your weapons and bring the cars. It looks like we've got some new guests. Also, cordon off this area. I doubt anyone's still here, but there's no reason to take chances."

As the soldiers moved to follow Laguna's orders, Kaoru and Kai followed Rinally and Yukari to join Rinoa and the others, exchanging smiles with each other as Yukari began to tell her sister how she had spent her time in Esthar, and all the new friends she had made. And Rinally just listened, holding tight to her sister's hand as if she were afraid the girl would disappear if she let go even for the slightest second.

oooo

Laguna insisted that the three teenagers get cleaned up once they arrived back at the Presidential Palace. They had learned on the drive that Laguna was one and the same with President Loire, the ruler of Esthar. His two companions were Kiros and Ward, and the young woman was Ellone, Laguna's daughter. Rinoa mentioned that while Ellone wasn't technically a sorceress, she had a special power of her own, and so that was why Yukari had been given into her care after Rinoa had tested her. Another reason was that Ellone never went anywhere without Kiros, Ward, Laguna, or all three of them, mostly because Odine - Kaoru didn't enjoy the way Odine's name kept popping up - wanted to study Ellone's powers. They had caught sight of the short man as they had gone into the private wing of the Palace, but Odine hadn't approached them yet.

Kaoru swore that if Odine even dared to touch Rinally or Yukari, he wouldn't have to worry about touching anything ever again. Kai seemed to share his sentiments, though he hadn't bothered to keep them to himself. His comment about taking the man's hands and shoving them up somewhere unmentionable while they were still attached was inventive, anatomically impossible, and incredibly frightening when everyone else realized Kai meant what he said.

Kaoru and Rinally had just dissolved into a giggling fit at the adults' expressions.

Once they had been shown a spare room they could utilize and had cleaned up and made themselves look somewhat presentable, Rinoa had escorted them to Laguna's private meeting room. Before the meeting began in earnest, Laguna had some of the palace staff bring a meal for them to share. "Go ahead," Laguna said. "No need to be polite on my account. According to what Rinoa's told me, a sorceress needs to keep a decent amount of food in her so she doesn't collapse from exhaustion."

Rinally glanced at Rinoa, who just shrugged and smiled. "Thanks."

They filled a few plates, and Rinally helped Yukari fill a plate for herself, and then the four of them sat at the round table across from Laguna, Kiros, Ward, Ellone, and Rinoa. The silence grew, as if neither side wanted to be the one to start the conversation.

Knowing they weren't going to get anywhere if someone didn't start, Kaoru asked, "Ultimecia... is she really so dangerous?"

It was Ellone who answered. "She is. She has the power to control time, and can send her consciousness into different places in time. Through any sorceress she's able to connect to, she can alter the events there. But that alone wouldn't have sealed her away. She hates, Kaoru. She hates everyone and everything. She wants to destroy worlds."

Kaoru, Kai, and Rin exchanged looks. The three of them were sharing the same thought: Why would Ennio want such a volatile power? If anything, Ultimecia would be exactly the opposite of what Ennio was after.

"Unless," Kai said, "Ennio's got nothing to do with it."

"You think it's someone who found out the truth, like Lorne did?" Rinally wondered.

Kai shook his head. "I think once Lorne found out the truth, Ennio probably did his best to plug the leak. No, I think whoever did this is acting exactly to the plan Ennio told his followers. Ultimecia wants to destroy worlds and has the power to change time, right? What easier way to get what Ennio claims he wants than get someone who can go back in time and kill Sora before he even becomes a Keyblade wielder?"

Laguna leaned back in his chair, his fingers twining together. "Who's Ennio?"

Kaoru, with help from Kai and Rinally, began to explain to the President the Brotherhood, the group's outward goal of destroying the balance between Light and Darkness and annihilating the Keyblade wielders, and the true goal of their leader, Ennio. "He wants to reach Kingdom Hearts," Kaoru continued, "but we haven't figured out why."

Laguna was quiet for a moment, staring at the glossy top of the table. His blue-grey eyes were narrowed slightly, and his lips were pushed into a thin line. "The goal of destroying Light and Darkness and the Keyblade wielders is a rather ingenious smoke screen. It keeps his followers from realizing the truth, and it keeps the other side from catching on until it's too late. But it also serves a purpose. If his minions succeed, then he's free to act as he pleases."

"So this Brotherhood is here?" asked Kiros, his deep voice rumbling in his slight frame. "They're the ones who unleashed that monster upon Esthar and destroyed the Sorceress Memorial?"

"They have to be." Rinoa answered. "The monster was a distraction. They couldn't have realized that two Keyblade wielders would be here, and that they would be able to defeat it. I think that's why the Sorceress Memorial was destroyed. They ran out of time."

"Which means they couldn't have awakened Ultimecia," Ellone said. "And without the equipment to thaw her out, they won't be able to remove her from the Coffin."

"But her influence is still affecting the world." Kai said, his green eyes focused on the grape he was rolling about on his plate with his index finger. "I felt a terrible, evil darkness the moment the Sorceress Memorial must have been bombed. It was a twisted, malicious presence against my mind."

"I felt it too," Kaoru said softly. Rinally added her agreement, earning a worried look from Yukari. "An immense darkness... a fury that wanted to destroy everything."

"How can you fight something like that?" Yukari asked her sister.

Rinally looked at her and lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "I don't know. But if she wakes up, we'll have to."

"Why?"

"Because Kaoru and Kai are Keyblade wielders. It's their duty to make sure Light and Darkness stay in balance. If Ultimecia wakes up and is allowed to start spreading her darkness all over, then someone's got to stand against her as a champion of the light."

"But why do _you_ have to fight?"

Rinally smiled gently. "Because Kaoru and Kai count on me to heal them and protect them. We're a team. We fight together, even when we're apart."

The quiet that filled the room after her words was more contemplative than oppressive or worried. Yukari seemed to understand and gave her sister a long, searching look. "You're different, Rin. I don't know how, but you're different, somehow."

Rinally smiled and ruffled her sister's hair.

"Hopefully," Laguna said then, "Ultimecia doesn't wake up and the Brotherhood doesn't find a way to do so. Kai, you can sense this darkness? Can you sense it now?"

Kai closed his eyes, and Kaoru felt his power brush against his mind as Kai sought for Ultimecia's darkness. After five minutes, he opened his eyes and shook his head. "Not anymore. Wherever they took her, they've either shielded her from my senses or they're out of range."

Laguna's face was an impassive mask after that. He rose from his seat and clasped his hands behind his back as he headed over to a large bay window, staring out over Esthar and the plume of smoke that still rose from the destroyed Sorceress Memorial. No one seemed to want to break whatever train of thought the President was considering, but after a minute, Ellone got up from her seat to join her father by the window, linking her arm with his.

Kaoru leaned back in his chair, dropping his gaze to his lap. They couldn't have gone far, really. It hadn't been that long a time between when the Heartless had attacked Esthar to when Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally had defeated it, and the explosion that had unleashed that terrible feeling into the ether. It had been a long distance to run, but even still, there should have been some sign of the Brotherhood's presence. They couldn't just take Ultimecia's Coffin and vanish into thin air. Could they? Had they brought her into the World Between Worlds and used that place to travel rather than more conventional means? Kaoru had surmised early on that the Brotherhood members were able to use the Paths just like he, Kai, and Rinally could. Even Hiromu had been able to summon a portal into the World Between Worlds. But Kai should have still been able to pick up something, even a trace. Kaoru, too, should have been able to sense something. There was always a certain feel of a portal being opened or freshly closed that he supposed all Keyblade wielders were able to sense to a certain degree. At least, that was his theory, considering he always felt a strange little tickle each time Kai opened a portal or closed one. But here, he had felt nothing. Kai had felt nothing. Even Rin had felt nothing.

"I don't like being on the defensive like this," Kai growled.

"Me neither," Rinally said softly. She glanced at her sister, finding Yukari playing with a carrot stick and a raisin as if the former was a hockey stick and the latter the puck. She smiled and turned her attention back to her friends. "This must be why we were sent here. Beyond finding Yukari, anyway."

"But how can you find something you don't even have a clue as to how to find?" Kai shook his head and closed his eyes. "Every direction I stretch my senses to is the same result. Nothing. Nothing. A whole bunch of _nothing_."

Kaoru kept his silence and continued to stare at his lap, his eyes trailing the fibers of his pants. _Maybe we're going about this all wrong,_ he thought to himself. _Before, it was always living subjects, like Gaston and John Smith. So why would the Brotherhood take someone sealed away in order to experiment on them?_ That was the part that didn't make any sense. The black rods had been used to corrupt Gaston and John Smith, and the black rods controlled the Heartless that the Brotherhood made. But they were alive in some way. Active.

Ultimecia was technically alive. She wasn't dead in her Coffin, despite the name. She was just frozen, sealed away. When she had been forcibly removed from the Memorial, a portion of that immense evil and hate had leaked out. That was what Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally had felt.

It dawned on Kaoru then, in that moment, that it wasn't _Ultimecia_ herself that the Brotherhood was after, but her immense and powerful and rage-and-hate-filled _darkness._

Gaston had been filled with rage and hatred for the Beast, who had won Belle's heart. John Smith had been filled with rage and hatred for Ratcliffe, who had taken his freedom away. Even Hiromu was filled with rage and hatred, all of it aimed at Kaoru. Morgana had been filled with rage and hate for Melody and the girl's role in her first imprisonment. But Kaoru had cleared Gaston of his rage and hate and had done the much the same for John Smith with Thomas's help. Hiromu had been stopped by Kai, who in turn had been stopped by Tae. Morgana had absorbed Lorne, driving him into deep darkness, and Rinally had saved him from that.

The cycle of Darkness and Light. The ever-present balance.

It hit Kaoru then, and understanding filled him. They were after Ultimecia's darkness to find her _light_.

Kaoru immediately looked at Rinoa.

If Rinoa was the sorceress who had helped seal away Ultimecia to begin with, then Rinoa _had_ to be Ultimecia's light. Gaston's light was Belle, that much Kaoru was certain of, except Belle was also the light of her whole world, as its Princess of Heart. For John Smith, it had to have been Thomas. Kaoru remembered the young man shining with muted light, and it had been Thomas who had drawn John Smith back to himself from the darkness. In each situation, it was the same. The Darkness was seeking the Light, seeking that eternal balance. Ennio was seeking the Light, in order to...

To what?

Kaoru frowned, still studying Rinoa. She seemed to notice him staring and canted her head to one side, her eyebrows coming together slightly. Still she didn't seem about to draw attention to Kaoru's sudden interest in her, rather watching him right back.

It was Kai who finally noticed that Kaoru and Rinoa were essentially having a staring contest that neither of them seemed close to winning or losing, and he reached to give Kaoru a light push, a red eyebrow rising in question when the blonde boy looked at him. Kai's motion seemed to draw everyone's attention, for Kaoru found the entire room staring at him with varying expressions. His shoulders tightened slightly, especially under Laguna's intense gaze when the President turned from the window to look at him.

"You seem to have figured something out," said the President, his expression betraying nothing of his emotions. "Would you care to explain it to us?"

Kaoru gave a helpless shrug. "I don't know where to start. I don't even know if it makes sense, but..." He stopped and took a minute to order his thoughts. "When we visited previous worlds, there was a situation like this. Ennio experimented with corrupting someone who was Light-oriented and turning them completely to Darkness. We could never figure out why, and I never thought anything of it because we were always able to save them and bring them back. But here... here, they took Ultimecia, and they can't use her like they're able to use the Heartless."

"Because she's in her Coffin," Rinoa reasoned, nodding. She folded her arms over her chest and assumed a thoughtful expression. "Ultimecia is, essentially, frozen in time. Without the equipment to free her, they can't use her. They can't risk breaking open the Coffin because that just might kill her. But her Darkness is still leaking out into the world, and that they _can_ use."

"Maybe. But I don't think it's really Ultimecia's Darkness they're after. They're after her Light. They're after you, Rinoa." Kaoru said. He waited until the room, which had erupted into confused noise, quieted before continuing. "This whole thing has been about acquiring Darkness and Light. Ennio's been seeking a way to find Kingdom Hearts. I don't know anything about the place, but if it's anything like the Paths, then it's a place of both Light and Darkness, and you need both to get into it."

"But what's that got to do with Rinoa?" Ellone asked.

"Everything. Rinoa is Ultimecia's opposite, right? The good to Ultimecia's evil. Essentially, her light." Kaoru gestured to himself and Kai. "It's like me and Kai. He's my Darkness and I'm his Light. No matter where we are, we can find each other, because we're connected. They took Ultimecia to find Rinoa, by following the connection the two of them share. But if they can find us, then we should be able to find them. Or, more accurately, Rinoa should be able to find Ultimecia."

Rinoa looked apprehensive, but everyone else looked thoughtful or shocked. Rinoa asked, "How can I find her if Kai can't?"

Kai slowly smiled as he caught on to what Kaoru was saying. "Because I'm not attuned to her like you are. Not only are you two sorceresses, but you're also everything she isn't. The good sorceress, the light of Esthar. It's like Rinally said - no matter how far apart we may be, we're always connected. We're always together. There's a part of you that will instinctively seek out your opposite. You should already have a feel for Ultimecia since you've fought her before. Just focused on that."

Rinoa glanced at Laguna, Kiros, Ward, and Ellone, then nodded. "Supposing I _do_ locate her, what are we going to do about it?"

"We're going to stop Ultimecia from reviving fully," Rinally said. "Me, Kaoru, and Kai can engage the Brotherhood and keep them away from you, while you and the Estharian forces take Ultimecia back."

"It's about the only plan we have." Kiros grumbled when Laguna looked up at him. "We can't do anything but sit here and wait for them to attack us, which we can't afford. If we can beat them to the punch, we can get into position and perhaps turn the situation to our advantage."

Laguna was silent for a while, turning back to the window and the scenery beyond. Beside him, Ellone watched her father's face, as if she was trying to decipher his thoughts. Everyone else remained silent, watching Laguna. Finally, the President turned back to the group at the table and looked at Rinoa. "This might be our only chance. Do you think you can do this?"

Rinoa smiled. "I think so. I helped stop her once, I can do it again. And this time, we're not alone in the fight." She looked at Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally and smiled brightly.

Laguna followed her gaze, then returned his gaze to Rinoa. "All right then. Try and find Ultimecia, and we'll get moving."

Rinoa nodded and closed her eyes. Her face became completely impassive, a relaxed mask that made it seem as if she had turned into a statue. Only a handful of heartbeats passed before she opened her eyes again, her irises a bright gold. Her voice was soft as she spoke:

"I found her."


	62. Chapter 62

Sixty-One - Esthar

Rinally stared at metal floor beneath her feet and clenched her fists in her lap. With her were Kaoru, Kai, Laguna, Kiros, Ward, and a contingent of Estharian soldiers, with two more contingents racing along behind them in armored vehicles like the one they were in. Rinoa, who was riding up front in the cab, was still acting as a lodestone for Ultimecia, directing the vehicle's driver exactly where to go. The soldiers around them were putting on the finishing touches on their weapons and armor. They seemed to be prepared for anything, be it Heartless or people or Sorceresses. Kaoru and Kai were just as quiet as Rin was, but the two of them had an air of confidence around them that no one else, including Rinally herself, seemed to have. She supposed she couldn't fault them for having it, considering what they were. She wished she had that kind of confidence.

It had taken some convincing on Rinally's part to make Yukari stay behind with Ellone. Her sister had wanted to come along, but Rinally didn't want to risk her life. She couldn't afford to protect Yukari if she came, because her attention would be mostly on Kaoru and Kai. Yukari didn't understand that, though, and had argued with her while Laguna had prepared the Estharian army for the fight against the Brotherhood, Ultimecia, and any Heartless that might happen to be there.

"But _why_?" Yukari whined. "I want go to with you! I don't want to be by myself!"

"You can't go, Yukari, not this time." Rinally said. She knelt so she was looking up into her sister's face, holding onto the girl's biceps gently. "I need you here."

"But why?"

"Because I need someone to come back to."

"But what if you leave? What if you don't come back?"

Rinally smiled gently. "I _will_ come back. I'll come back and get you. Now that I found you again, I'm not about to let you go." She let go of Yukari and held up her little finger. "So promise me that you'll be right here with Ellie, okay?"

Yukari's lower lip trembled, but she wrapped her own little finger around Rin's and nodded.

Rinally's eyes flicked to her pinky finger and imagined she could still feel the warmth of her sister's flesh. She hadn't said good-bye on purpose to Yukari when Laguna called for them to load up into the armored vehicles, because she was afraid if she did say the words, something would happen and she wouldn't get back to Yukari until the Brotherhood was defeated for good and Ennio's plans were foiled for good. It was a foolish notion, but she entertained it because it made her feel hopeful when she wasn't sure 'hope' was in her vocabulary.

The trucks rolled to a stop at a distance from Ultimecia's location that would allow them to, hopefully, ambush the Brotherhood members and Ultimecia. Laguna had decided that and everyone else seemed to agree. Rinally looked up as the doors to the armored vehicle opened, revealing the driver and Rinoa. Rinoa smiled and said, "We're here. Ultimecia's to the north of us, and according to the maps, is thankfully in an area that's pretty much a wasteland."

Laguna jumped out of the truck and stretched. "We walk from here. Kaoru, Kai, Rin, please don't rush ahead. If our plan is to work, you three need to stay as close as possible to us. There's no telling what's there waiting for us, and I don't want to risk blowing everything unless there's no other choice."

The three teenagers agreed, but said nothing more. They already knew what to expect; the Brotherhood would likely have rod-controlled Heartless as the first line of defense, and the Estharian soldiers were prepared for that, knowing to aim for the rod rather than the Heartless itself. They were also prepared to face the usual Heartless that lurked around, but they didn't know what kind of Heartless would be there, and that was true on both accounts. Kaoru wasn't sure if there would be smaller Shadows, or Neo-Shadows, or Blade-Fists, or Yellow Operas, or Behemoths there, but they had to be ready for anything.

According to Laguna's plan, the Estharian soldiers would engage the Heartless to provide a distraction, which would allow Laguna, Kiros, Ward, Rinoa, Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally to get in close to Ultimecia and the Brotherhood member or members that might be there. If that was successful, then Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally would engage the Brotherhood while Laguna, Kiros, and Ward provided Rinoa with backup while she locked with Ultimecia and tried to seal the evil Sorceress's darkness. Should one side prevail in their struggle before another, they would then turn to help whoever needed it the most, after getting Ultimecia's Coffin out of range and into one of the armored vehicles that the Estharian soldiers would lock down and guard until Laguna and the others returned.

They started off at a light trot. Rinoa was in the lead with Kai and Kaoru flanking her, protecting her as they drew closer and closer to where the Brotherhood was keeping camp. They had probably traveled for twenty minutes before Rinoa stopped short, her entire body becoming rigid.

Laguna was by her side immediately and clutching her shoulder, his eyes searching her face in silent question.

Rinoa let out a soft breath and whispered, "They should be right over that rise. I can feel her, Laguna. I can feel her darkness and rage and hate. She's not free, not yet, but she's stronger than she was before."

"Is she still in her Coffin?" Laguna asked.

Rinoa concentrated for a minute, then nodded. "I think so, yeah. That Coffin can only be opened with the special equipment that got blown up when they bombed the Memorial, but that doesn't mean they can't beat at it until it starts to crack."

"That's probably how her Darkness is leaking out," Kai grumbled. "There are cracks in the Coffin, so they're trying to widen them so she can get out."

"Then we still have time." Rinally said.

"Yes, we do." Laguna agreed. He looked at Kaoru. "You three go ahead and start getting into position. Don't engage until you see the signal. I mean that."

Kaoru nodded. "Don't worry about us."

The three of them hurried toward the direction that Rinoa pointed them in, keeping low and quiet as they tried to find a good point to wait and watch for the signal Laguna was going to give them.

The area that the Brotherhood had chosen for their base of operations was a complete wasteland, sheltered only by a few jutting cliffs and dunes of sand. There weren't any structures that Kaoru could see, proving that there was a campsite or even an actual base for them to use, but he doubted that the Brotherhood had been here long enough to really dig in. That, or they didn't feel like they needed to, because they weren't going to be here that long. They weren't expecting a full assault by the Estharian forces or the Keyblade wielders and Rinally, and so it didn't look like they had even taken the precaution of setting up defenses. Kaoru knew that didn't mean anything, because the Heartless could be summoned in an instant, and in incredible numbers.

Kaoru settled down on the short side of a dune that afforded him a view of the area where the fighting would take place. Rin and Kai settled beside him, also watching the area. Kai lifted his hand and pointed. "There," he said quietly.

Following his finger, both Kaoru and Rinally could see Ultimecia's Coffin, an ugly rectangular thing that stood at least ten feet high and five wide. There were wires hanging from the back and sides, ripped tubing and what looked like insulating sheeting dangling from the Coffin, and cracks running along the front of the Coffin's glass. Kaoru couldn't see the darkness spewing from the Coffin, but he could feel it, and he shivered at the feel of maliciousness permeating the air. He couldn't see Ultimecia herself, for the Coffin was facing away from them at an angle, but what he could see made his shoulders tense.

Kai and Rin tensed as well.

Pacing back and forth in front of the Coffin was a tall man with charcoal hair pulled back into a tail and solid black eyes, including the whites. He wore a long black coat that strained against his arms and chest. Kaoru remembered him clearly from Midgar, and clenched his fists against his stomach as all those memories washed over him. The only thing that was different about that man now was that his arms weren't hanging at odd angles. Clearly, he'd been healed somewhere between the moment he'd escaped Kaoru in Midgar and arriving here.

"That's Volstag." Rinally whispered. "Isn't it?"

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah, it is."

Volstag had been Haiku's partner, aiding her in the Brotherhood's plans for a strange pool of water in a church in the ruins of Midgar. Kaoru had managed to wound him enough to take him out of the fight, but Volstag had escaped, leaving Haiku to face Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally on her own, which resulted in her death.

"You think he knows she's dead?" Rinally asked.

"Lorne knew." Kai replied. "Stands to reason he knows."

"He said he was going to kill me the next time we met," Kaoru said.

Kai snorted. "Let him try. You're stronger now than you were then, and you have me and Rin to back you up. All we have to do is occupy him long enough for Rinoa to do whatever it is she has to do, and for Laguna to get the Coffin out of here."

Rinally agreed, reaching to squeeze Kaoru's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll be right there with you."

Kaoru looked at his friends and smiled, relaxing his fists and allowing the tenseness to drain from his body. Kai leaned toward Kaoru and pressed their foreheads together, staring into Kaoru's blue eyes. Kaoru stared back. No words passed between them, but Kaoru knew that no matter what happened, Kai wouldn't let him fall. So he owed to Kai, and to Rin, to make sure he fought with all his power. Then Kai leaned back and focused on Volstag and Ultimecia's Coffin. So did Kaoru and Rinally, each of them waiting for the signal Laguna would send to begin their assault.

They didn't have to wait too much longer.

There was an explosion from somewhere to their far left, and a fountain of sand and rocks shot up into the sky. Volstag looked away from the Coffin toward the noise, but he didn't move. Instead, he raised his arm and bubbles of darkness began to puddle up from the ground. Neo-Shadows burst forth from the puddles, hundreds strong, each with a black rod sticking out of their heads like an antenna. They slithered toward the noise, and a minute later, the rapid sound of gunfire erupted, sounding softer than it really was because the noise was broken up by the dips and folds and rises in the land.

"You think that's the signal?" Rinally asked.

"I don't think we're going to get anything else." Kaoru said, moving to rise. He summoned Guardian and started down the hill, trying to keep out of sight of Volstag as much as possible. Kai, wielding Sanctuary, and Rinally followed.

As they reached the ground, Kaoru could see the Estharian soldiers fighting the Neo-Shadows on the far side of the area. With them were Kiros and Ward. Laguna and Rinoa were moving down the front of the dune that protected the far side of the area, accompanied by more Estharian soldiers. Rinoa's powers were keeping the Heartless at bay, and Laguna and the soldiers took scant few seconds to stop the Heartless in their tracks, firing at the rods within the Heartless's heads and then at their bodies to destroy them. Volstag turned toward Rinoa and Laguna and began moving toward them, his claymore materializing in his hand and swinging with such force that he actually gouged a huge rift in the land at his feet and kicked up a cloud of dust and debris that forced Rinoa to stop defending her party against the Neo-Shadows and throw up a shield to protect Laguna and the soldiers with her.

Kai reached Volstag first, using his Darkness-enhanced speed to close the distance between them. Sanctuary crashed against the claymore, and Volstag let out a barking laugh as he parried all the blows Kai rained down upon him. Switching hands, Volstag blocked Kaoru's attack with the claymore as Kaoru attacked him from behind. Volstag's leer became a homicidal grin as he recognized Kaoru and he spun the claymore with inhuman speed to knock Guardian wide and leave Kaoru defenseless.

A Barrier shield sprung up between Kaoru and the claymore, stopping the huge blade's momentum immediately and saving Kaoru's life. Volstag's eyes went to Rinally and stared at her for a minute, then returned to Kaoru.

"It's nice to see you again, Keyblade brat." Volstag growled, his voice deep and thick and rough with anger, hate, and fierce joy likely born of the thought of killing Kaoru. "I can't wait to hear your bones snap in my hands. I'll make your death slow and very painful, just like I promised you."

Kaoru landed on his feet and pulled Guardian close to him in a defensive position. "It's a promise you won't be able to keep."

"I always keep my promises, brat." Volstag snarled, and then he charged Kaoru.

Kaoru was ready for the attack and was already moving to defend against it. He could feel Kai closing in behind Volstag, ready to strike with his lightning fast blows and drive the man even further away. But at the last second, Volstag changed direction with more speed and agility than a man his size should rightly possess and he streaked toward Rinally. Caught off guard by the sudden move, it took Kaoru and Kai several long seconds before they could chase after him to try and stop him. Rinally dodged out of the way of the claymore's strike, dirt and rocks pounding at her back and her head. She threw a Barrier around herself to prevent her spine from being broken and her body being sliced in half, then dodged backwards by a few steps before she could launch a Firaga spell at Volstag to stop him from chasing her.

Then Kaoru and Kai were there, pounding away at him with fierce, fast strikes, driving Volstag back from Rinally. They were moving as fast as they could, trading attacks and keeping Volstag from being able to break away from them to attack Rinally.

It dawned on Rin, after the fifth or sixth time Volstag was able to break away from Kaoru and Kai long enough to rush her, that he was doing it to prevent her from healing her friends and keeping them whole and healthy enough to fight him. He was seeking to kill her to take away Kaoru and Kai's ability to face him fully on, knowing that they would stop their offensive to protect her. Without her witch's staff, it took Rin far longer to cast her high-level spells than usual, so she was reduced to using quick spells like the three tiers of Fire, Thunder, Cure, and Aero, rather than the fourth level spells like Curaja, which would allow Kaoru and Kai to keep fighting. She couldn't even spare a glance toward Rinoa and could only hope that she had reached Ultimecia's Coffin and was doing what she could to remove it or seal it or both.

Rinally hit the ground on her hands and turned her fall into a dodge roll, coming back to her feet and turning to fire off a spell at Volstag. The fireball hit him in the face, but the berserker didn't seem to notice, still coming toward her with a single-minded intensity. His claymore's slash was stopped by Guardian, and the force actually made Kaoru skid back a few feet and nearly into Rinally. He shoved back against the claymore and pushed forward to force Volstag back and away from Rin and right into Kai's Nightmare Raid. The two Keyblade wielders continued to force Volstag back and away from Rinally, and Rin used the time to throw several short healing spells their way before she had to retreat again as Volstag escaped Kaoru and Kai and charged her again.

She hated being helpless. She hated being limited by the fact she couldn't fight as skillfully as she could have if she had a staff. She hated that Kaoru and Kai were putting themselves in danger to protect her because she couldn't get spells off fast enough to protect herself. Kaoru and Kai were going to get killed because they were trying to save her. They had already sustained several wounds that she had only managed to heal because she'd gotten a few minutes of breathing room to cast several Curaga spells in quick succession. They were more skilled and better prepared than they had been the first time around, but Volstag never noticed the wounds he took, or the blood running down one side of his face, or the fact that he should be on the losing end facing two Keyblade wielders and one witch. He was living up to the name 'berserker', and he was going to win if Kaoru and Kai couldn't put him down, which they couldn't because they couldn't attack with all their strength without giving Volstag an opening to go after Rinally.

 _I need a staff. I need a witch's staff. I can't be effective and protect my friends if I don't have the time to cast the spells I need to!_

Rinally dodged another attack and felt Kai behind her stopping the claymore's swing from striking her. As Rinally turned to face Volstag, she caught a glimpse of Rinoa and Laguna standing before the Coffin. Rinoa's arms were raised toward the Coffin and her face was contorted into a mask of pain. She was so utterly still, and Laguna was standing by her, holding a machine gun at the ready, his eyes on Volstag and the Keyblade wielders. Rinally could sense that Rinoa was doing her best to hold back Ultimecia's darkness, but it was a little too late for her to fully seal the evil sorceress away again. All she could do was hold the darkness at bay for the moment.

"Rin!"

Kaoru's shout drew her eyes back to her own fight, and she saw Kai flying through the air before hitting the ground on his back and tumbling head over heels before fetching up against a small rock jutting from the ground. Kaoru was running toward her, but he wasn't moving fast enough, and even Kai was struggling to rise, but he wasn't going to gain his feet before Volstag reached her. Rinally saw Volstag's shadow looming above her and looked up to see him only an arm's length away. His claymore lay abandoned on the ground where it must have fallen when Kai intercepted his newest attack on Rin, but he didn't seem to care about the weapon. His fingers were hooked like claws and were reaching for Rinally's neck.

Rinally dodged backwards to avoid being grabbed, but Volstag was faster than she without the weight of the claymore slowing him. Rather than grabbing her neck, he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her toward him, his other hand moving to grab her chin. Rinally cried out and tried to yank her arm out of his iron grip, but she couldn't, and pain radiated up to her shoulder from the action. Volstag grinned at her and lifted her clear off the ground before whipping her through the air like a weapon and throwing her bodily into Kaoru. The two collided hard and hit the ground. Rin groaned as she rolled off Kaoru, who gasped for air and clutched at his chest, curling up slightly as his eyes screwed shut in pain.

Rinally knew then that Kaoru had purposely shifted himself to take the brunt of the impact and protect her as much as he could. Her friend had sacrificed his own safety for hers, and he would still continue to fight despite injuries that he shouldn't have gotten in the first place. Even Kai, who was staggering upright now, would sacrifice his own safety to protect her. She wanted to be able to protect them. She wanted to be able to defend them as they defended her.

Volstag picked up his claymore and let the blade drag in the earth, creating a rough noise that heralded death as he stalked toward Rinally and Kaoru. "I spent days wondering how I would kill you. Whether or not I would rip you limb from limb, or just destroy your heart like you destroyed Haiku. It's fortunate for me that you three ended up on this backwater world. Saves me the effort from having to hunt you down after I finish here."

Kai hit Volstag from behind, but the berserker didn't seem to notice the initial attack. He turned and traded blows with Kai for a while, before catching Kai in the side with the flat of the claymore and sending him flying across the area, where he hit the ground, bounced, hit again, and rolled to a stop, coughing up blood even as he used Sanctuary as a crutch to try and get to his feet.

"I decided I'd kill you first, little girl." Volstag said. "Without you, the two Keyblade brats will fall. Without you to bind them together, they won't stand a chance against me."

Rinally saw Kaoru move out from behind her and rush toward Volstag, Guardian held low and ready. Volstag bent backwards to avoid the upward slash, then traded blows with Kaoru for a few minutes before he was able to get his claymore between them and thrust the flat side of the huge blade into Kaoru's middle, crumpling him in half and sending him flying into the ground. He lost his grip on Guardian and lay on the ground gasping for air, his eyes closed tight. Volstag stalked over to Kaoru and picked up Guardian, holding the Keyblade in a reverse grip. He stood over Kaoru, staring down at the boy with an evil leer twisting his face. It was clear he enjoyed having Kaoru helpless, that he enjoyed being able to inflict pain upon Kaoru, and that he was taking intense pleasure of being able to use Kaoru's own Keyblade against him. Kai flickered out of Rinally's line of sight for a minute and then back into it as he reached Volstag's back and tried to break his hold on Guardian with Sanctuary. But Volstag used Guardian to block Kai's attack and lashed out with the claymore to throw Kai backwards.

"There's a great irony in a Keyblade wielder being destroyed by his own Keyblade." Volstag snarled. "Especially one like yours."

He stepped on Kaoru's arm to prevent him from rolling away and lifted Guardian upwards and aimed the end of the blade at Kaoru's heart. Then he thrust downwards.

Time seemed to stop for Rinally. She could only watch helplessly as Volstag attacked Kaoru with his own Keyblade, meaning to kill him. She couldn't do anything. Kai couldn't do anything. She was completely helpless and no matter how hard she tried to muster up the strength to cast a spell Volstag's way, it would be too little, too late. But she had to try. She had to do something to save Kaoru.

Power surged within her, power she had never felt before. It burned through her blood but without pain, and filled her with such energy that she felt certain that if she acted now, even so close as it would be, she would be able to stop Volstag from killing Kaoru and save her best friends, her Light and her Darkness, from being ripped from her life permanently.

 _Darkness and Light aren't the only powers that exist. Between them, holding them close, is always Shadow. Born of both Light and Dark, it is neither and it is both, and with them it shares its strength._

Rinally swung her right hand forward as hard and as fast as she could, catching a glimmer of something out of the corner of her eye. When her arm stopped moving, the soft motes of purple and gold that surrounded her hand burst apart as she screamed:

"STOP!"


	63. Chapter 63

Sixty-Two - Esthar

Time froze.

Rinally could see Volstag struggling against her spell, sweat beading on his forehead even as his arm struggled to finish its thrust into Kaoru's heart. Kaoru was staring up at Volstag with wide eyes, as if he couldn't comprehend that the man had just stopped in an instant and though he was still seconds away from death, he wasn't about to die. But he also couldn't comprehend how Rinally had been able to stop Volstag in mid-motion, but he wasn't about to argue. Neither was Kai, who used the opportunity to attack Volstag, slamming his own body into the berserker's to get him off Kaoru. Guardian shimmered and burst into motes, as if fleeing Volstag's grip, and then reappeared in Kaoru's hand as the blonde struggled to sit up. Volstag hit the ground like a toppled statue, perfectly frozen in time, though an insane snarl escaped his clenched teeth, growing louder as if he could break Rin's spell by sheer will. Perhaps he could, but Kai was already pulling Kaoru to his feet and pulling him away from Volstag and toward Rinally, both their eyes flicking from her face to her arm.

Rin looked at her right hand. Stretching about three feet out from a hilt that swirled about her hand like a starburst was an ebony and cobalt blue pipe-shaped blade that ended in three prongs on one side. Two of the prongs curled out before moving inward like a 'C' turned clockwise onto its 'arms' while the third prong had a diamond shape in the center of that 'C'. The Keyblade shifted in color from ebony and cobalt-blue to silver and sea-green as Rinally focused on her friends, and a Curaja spell took effect the moment she even thought of the spell, enveloping Kaoru and Kai in a powerful swirl of green that swept away all their hurts. When the spell was over, the Keyblade's color turned into a mix of silver and ebony, shifting between the two depending on which way Rinally turned her arm.

 _Born of the power of your heart and the desire to protect what is most important to you, this Keyblade grants the powers of Light and Dark to its wielder. Its name is Sorceress, and is a representation of the strength you have inside you._

Rinally shivered at the voice that echoed through her mind and wondered if Kaoru and Kai had heard the same voice. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She was a Keyblade wielder, just like her friends. But more than that, she was a Keyblade wielder that straddled both Light and Dark, and depending on which one she chose to embody, Sorceress took on that affinity.

Rinally let out a soft breath and tightened her grip on Sorceress, pulling the Keyblade into a ready position. Beside her, Kaoru and Kai readied themselves as well, and just in time, as Volstag let out a bestial roar and Rin could feel a twinge of pain in the back of her mind as he broke her spell with sheer physical force. Volstag was on his feet in a flash and he was turning to face the three of them before he had even gained his balance. As soon as he laid his black eyes on them, his lips split into a huge feral grin, revealing teeth that had sharpened to severe points. His shoulders bulged then, along with the biceps of his arms, and the material of his coat began to rip and tear as his body strained against it. Black lines appeared on his face like cracks in dry earth. He let out a deep laugh and pointed a thick finger at the three Keyblade wielders as if condemning them.

Then, despite his new massive size, Volstag flickered out of existence.

"Move!" Kai shouted, leaping away even as he uttered the word.

Kaoru and Rinally did the same, jumping away from the spot where they stood and trying to gain enough distance from the place. The ground where they had just been standing exploded, sending up a fountain of earth and rock. In the center of it was Volstag in his berserk form, his fist pulverizing the ground. Rinally could only imagine what damage he could do if he managed to hit one of them with that fist. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, and readied herself for the fight ahead. A black bullet hit Volstag and flung him about ten feet away from the impact point, but the berserker managed to turn his flight into a roll and land on his feet, pushing off immediately to retaliate against Kai. Kai's Black Knight armor glittered as he brought Sanctuary to bear against Volstag's rapid attacks, trading blows with the berserker before he was able to disengage and try to attack again with his boosted speed.

At the same time, Kaoru in his White Knight mode attacked Volstag from the opposite direction, a lucky heavy-handed blow scoring a grunt of pain when Guardian impacted on Volstag's back. Rin could see that Volstag simply shook off the blow; his back was thickly muscled and was able to absorb most of the impact and therefore saved his spine from being broken. Kaoru retreated, then came back for another round of attacks as Kai attacked from the opposite direction. Volstag seemed to be able to keep up with them enough to block their attacks, but he was no longer fast enough to retaliate and hurt them anymore. With their Modes activated, Kaoru and Kai matched Volstag blow for blow and neither could find an advantage unless one of them let his guard down.

Rinally took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a brief second, bringing Sorceress up as if it was a casting staff rather than a Keyblade. The air shimmered around her, and across her chest, hips, wrists, and legs there formed a brilliant black armor that echoed Kai's. _Black Witch Mode._ With another breath, Rinally took a few steps forward until she was running toward her friends and Volstag, Sorceress down by her side for the powerful swing she was about to take. At the tip of the Keyblade, a glimmer of fire appeared, growing larger and larger until the Flare spell sparked and popped, and then Rin launched the spell with the swing, crying out the spell's name as she did so. Kaoru and Kai leaped out of the way of the spell and the Flare hit Volstag head on, consuming him in the powerful flames. He let out a beastial roar and leaped out of the center of the Flare, hitting the ground and rolling to put out the mystical flames that greedily consumed his coat and skin alike.

Rin didn't stop. She brought Sorceress around with a flourish and cried out, "Blindga!"

A black orb appeared at the end of her Keyblade and shot out at Volstag. It hit him square in the face and expanded, consuming his entire head. He clawed at his face as he tried to remove the orb, but to no avail. He roared and blindly charged at where Rinally was standing, but she jumped out of the way, skidding to a stop only a few feet away. Volstag thrashed around the area, growing more angry the longer he couldn't hit anything.

Kai took advantage of Volstag's blindness. He came in fast and low and took Volstag's legs out from under him. Sanctuary impacted bone with a sickening crunch, and Volstag crumpled to the ground. He was down only for a minute, regaining his feet despite the broken bone in his left leg, and swung at Kai as the redhead passed by. He barely missed Kai, and was surprised by Kaoru's attack from behind, Guardian scoring three successive hits on Volstag's back, neck, and head. The blows flung the man into the ground, but he rolled back to his feet and remained still. When Kai came in to attack again, Volstag lashed out and caught Kai by the throat. He laughed as he squeezed his hand, trying to crush Kai, but then Kaoru was there, forcing Volstag to drop Kai and beating him back away from his friend.

Rinally was already moving toward Kai as he was starting to gain his feet. Her black armor shimmered and became white - _White Witch Mode_ \- and her Curaja spell washed over Kai before she even reached him.

"What else can you do?" Kai asked her when she reached him.

"I don't know. I guess we'll have to find out."

"We have to take him out. We can't do anything else until we do."

Both of them studied each other before Kai raced toward Volstag and Kaoru, engaging the blinded berserker to prevent him from breaking Kaoru's ribs with a devastating blow from his fist. Rinally watched them for a second, wracking her brain as to what she could possibly do.

Her Black Witch Mode allowed her to cast status effect magic and offensive magic, like Flare, Graviga, and all her other offensive spells that she knew. She could cast Stop, like she had done before, along with Blind, Poison, and those status effects, but she didn't think those would help here now. But her White Witch Mode... that might work. With that Mode, she could cast her healing spells, along with support and defensive spells like Haste, Shell, Protect. The only offensive spell she could cast while in White Witch Mode was Holy. Most of the spells she knew now she hadn't learned in her class before the Sky Islands were destroyed, nor had she even read about them in her books. And yet, because of her Keyblade, because of her armor, she _knew_ she could cast these spells and exactly how to do so.

A plan formed in her mind.

She brought Sorceress up and signaled Kaoru and Kai with her free hand. Whether they knew what she planned or not, they both gave her nods, signaling their trust for her. Just as her Blind spell's duration ran out, Rinally cast two Haste spells upon Kaoru and Kai, then threw a Protect spell around herself as Volstag burst away from her friends and charged her. His fist screamed in toward her head, but thanks to her Protect spell, it was stopped inches away, allowing Rinally to retaliate. Sorceress might also be a tool for her to use to cast her spells, but it was also a Keyblade, and Rinally knew how to use it. Her Keyblade struck Volstag's inner wrist, knocking his arm wide. Then she delivered a series of blows to his middle and chest to drive him even further backwards and into Kaoru and Kai's range.

With his speed enhanced even more by Rinally's Haste spell, Kai launched into an attack that had similarities to his Nightmare Raid. Rather than his Keyblade striking through Volstag's flesh like it had done before, the Keyblade tore dark lines into his enemy's skin. Those lines burst forth with darkness, each tendril attaching to his Keyblade and following his movements as he darted around Volstag. The berserker couldn't touch him, and even if he tried, Kaoru and Rinally were right there to prevent Volstag from touching him, their Keyblades flashing as they kept him focused elsewhere when one or the other attacked. Kai kept striking where he could, feeling power building up within him as the darkness grew more and more intense.

When he thought he couldn't hold back anymore, out of the corner of his eye he saw Rinally grab for Kaoru and pull him back, leaving an open space for Kai to maneuver. He saw Rinally's armor flicker from white to black and he saw Volstag freeze in place again, affected once more by her Stop spell. Volstag roared inhumanely and actually managed to move slightly despite the Stop spell holding him fast, his fingers hooking like claws as he tried to break free. Kai knew he would break free and soon, so Kai drew more on the power of Darkness and felt as though the world around him slowed even as he picked up speed.

Sanctuary flashed in a blur as it built the cocoon of darkness around Volstag. Kaoru could barely see Kai now, and when he did, it was all a black flash. This didn't have the feel of Kai's Nightmare Raid, for that attack was broken up by sudden stops and swift changes in direction. This one was in constant motion, with whiplike cords of darkness building an even bigger cocoon around Volstag. Kaoru saw flickers of something beginning to appear around the cocoon, as if reality was beginning to tear itself apart. He could only stand by and watch alongside Rin, who had cast her final spell and had reverted back to her standard mode, her Keyblade Sorceress again in its black and white form.

Then, suddenly, Kai stopped, suspended in the air above the cocoon of darkness. Sanctuary was raised high over his head, and the motes of darkness that followed him around like a cloak were now spread wide as if they were wings. He cut Sanctuary down on a diagonal, then across his body, and up on a diagonal, as if he were cutting through the very fabric of reality itself. The flickers that Kaoru had seen earlier began to widen then, and the cocoon of darkness began to stretch and warp as if it was being drawn into those rips.

Volstag's head was revealed again and he roared in agitation. His eyes focused on Kaoru and he snarled, "You won't win! You can't win! Ennio will destroy you all! You Keyblade brats won't survive this-"

Whatever he would have said next dissolved into a terrifying howl as he was, quite literally, ripped apart and sucked through the rips in reality. With a snap of his Keyblade, Kai pulled on the attached tendrils of darkness and sealed those rips in reality. As soon as they were completely gone, Kai dropped to the ground and his Black Knight armor dissipated, leaving him panting and clutching Sanctuary.

"What was _that_?" Rin asked, stunned.

Kai grinned at her. "Death Dimension. It wasn't until you threw that Haste spell on me that I figured out how to do it."

"Is he really dead?" Kaoru wondered.

Kai shrugged. "I don't know. All that attack does is pull the victim into another realm of existence. For all I know, he's still around, but he can't interact with anything where he is."

"So it's kind of like a purgatory." Rin reasoned. Kai shrugged again but nodded as if he agreed with her.

It was then that they became aware of how silent the area was. There was no sound of gunfire, no sound of cries, no sound at all. Slowly, the three pivoted toward Ultimecia's Coffin. Lying on the ground was Laguna, blood trickling from his forehead. Nearby were Kiros and Ward in much the same state, along with the Estharian soldiers that had accompanied Rinoa and Laguna and those that must have come with Kiros and Ward. The Coffin was open entirely, clouded by the frigid air that had once been contained within. And standing over it all was Rinoa, her head lolling on her chest even as she stood upright, along with another woman, who held onto Rinoa's shoulder as if using the young woman to support herself.

The woman was tall and beautiful, wearing a red skin-tight dress that revealed everything save for a small area on the lower part of her abdomen, covered up her arms entirely, and flared out behind her. She was barefoot and tattooed, and had long silver hair with some of it bound up in fantastic tails that resembled horns. A feathered collar stretched out behind her head and turned into wings. Her hands were covered in clawed purple gloves. A terrible darkness radiated from her, and her golden eyes turned a cold, cruel gaze upon the three Keyblade wielders. Her rouged lips split in an evil smile, and her beauty became marred with the obvious rage and hate that appeared on her face.

Rinoa's head lifted and her golden eyes turned on Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally, her lips parting to smile much the same as the woman behind her. Rinoa's arms lifted and Rinally quickly stepped in front of her friends, swinging Sorceress up to create a Barrier between them and the ice spell that rocketed toward them two seconds later. The icicles impacted the Barrier and shattered into a thousand pieces, shimmering in the air with the incredible power that had created them.

"So, you are a sorceress as well. How konvenient."

It wasn't Rinoa who spoke but the woman behind her. Kaoru and Kai glanced at each other, then looked at Rinally. Rinally brought her Keyblade down and broke the Barrier, her shoulders tight and tense. "You must be Ultimecia." Rinally said lowly.

Ultimecia grinned wider. Imitating her, Rinoa did the same.

Rinally tightened her hand on Sorceress. "Let Rinoa go. Now."

Ultimecia's grin twisted into something evil and ugly. "How dare you order me around! I am Ultimecia!"

"I don't care who you are!" Rinally snapped. "That's my friend you have, and those are my friends that you hurt, and I won't forgive you for that!"

Rinoa's hand lifted again and this time Rinally, Kaoru, and Kai were forced to dodge the torrent of water that rushed toward them. They retreated behind a mound of earth as another flurry of icicles came in, thudding against the earth rather than them.

"Kome out little sorceress! Kome out and face me! I will show you my true power!"

Rather than shouting out in retaliation, Rinally gestured to Kaoru and Kai to bring them closer to her. "She's controlling Rinoa." Rinally said. "So whatever we do to her will be done to Rinoa. And anything we do to Rinoa will just hurt Rinoa."

"So, basically, Kaoru and I can't do shit." Kai said.

Kaoru shook his head. "We can draw the fire away from Rinally. This is a battle between witches. If anyone can succeed here, it's Rinally."

Rinally nodded. "As long as Ultimecia is using Rinoa, we can't touch her. But Rinoa _can_. Ultimecia is suppressing Rinoa by invading her mind. Rinoa's the only one who can force her out. If I can reach Rinoa, then we can force Ultimecia away from Rinoa."

"And then what? If we can't defeat Ultimecia, then we're all in danger." Kaoru said.

"Do you think the Coffin still works?" Kai wondered. "Because if it does, we can seal her up again."

"We won't know that until we reach it." Kaoru replied.

Rinally winced as a blast of wind hit their earthen barrier, sending a shower of sand crashing over them. "That's going to be harder because Ultimecia's right there in front of it. If she doesn't make Rinoa move, then she won't move."

"Do you have any spells that can do that?"

"Maybe if I could use my Black Witch Mode, but I'm too tired for that now."

"So we'll have to do it the old-fashioned way." Kai rose and started around their protection. Glancing at each other, Kaoru and Rinally followed him.

Ultimecia grinned as she saw them, her gold eyes narrowing. Before she could speak or do anything to them, Kai charged forward. Rinoa turned toward him at Ultimecia's silent behest and raised her hand, a spell of electricity forming. The bolts shot toward Kai and nearly scored successive hits, but his speed, still enhanced by Rinally's Haste spell, allowed him to avoid the worst of the shocks. He got in close, but an earth spell hit the ground before his feet and disrupted his balance. He nearly fell flat on his face, but Kaoru's Holy Shield saved him from that, and from the sudden fireball that screamed toward him. He took the impact of the fireball on crossed arms, but was spared the actual fire because of Kaoru's shield, and hit the ground on his back, rolling to a stop.

Kaoru leaped over him and rushed Ultimecia, moving quickly as he dared. He threw Guardian toward the sorceress, but Ultimecia made Rinoa block it with a spell. Her laughter was like a taunt to the three of them, mocking their efforts to save their friend. It only spurred the three of them to keep fighting even though it seemed hopeless. But Rinally and Kaoru could see what Kai was intending. As long as Ultimecia was focused on them, she wasn't paying attention to those lying on the ground around her. When Ultimecia turned to focus on Kaoru or Kai when they engaged her, Rinally was able to send healing spells toward Laguna, Kiros, and Ward, along with the Estharian soldiers. There was no time to explain to them what the plan was, but Laguna hadn't become president of Esthar by being stupid. So when Laguna was able to crawl out of range of Ultimecia's attacks, he began directing the soldiers away from the area while he, Kiros, and Ward started for the Coffin.

It was up to Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally to keep Ultimecia from seeing with the three men were doing. So while Kaoru and Kai attacked her, Rinally started calling out to Rinoa.

"I know you can hear me, Rinoa!" Rinally yelled, dodging another spell that rushed her way. Kaoru and Kai both continued to try and keep Ultimecia's attention on them, even going so far as to try to attack her directly to keep her from turning her ire on Laguna. "I don't know what world she has you trapped in, but you have to fight it, Rinoa! There are people here who need you! Aren't you the good sorceress? Aren't you Esthar's sorceress? Aren't you friends with Laguna and Ellone and everyone? You protected my sister! You protect so many people! Fight, Rinoa, fight!"

Whether Rinoa heard her or not, the black-haired sorceress didn't indicate it. She continued to act as Ultimecia's puppet, throwing spells at Kaoru and Kai, who had lost both their Knight modes, and at Rinally, who could withstand her assault a little better than her friends because of her Barrier spell. Rinally was afraid that Ultimecia's Coffin would soon become Ultimecia and Rinoa's Coffin, and that both sorceresses would be sealed away within the chamber.

Then Ultimecia turned to see Laguna, Kiros, and Ward by her Coffin and her face twisted into a mask of such rage and hate it was a miracle that the three men didn't die from simply meeting her eyes. This time, both Ultimecia's and Rinoa's hands raised, and Rinally could see that the spell that was forming would be a devastating one and not only destroy the Coffin, but kill Laguna and the others. Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally charged forward, even though they knew that they would be too late. Rinally kept crying out to Rinoa, trying to get her to fight, to get her to regain control, and stop Ultimecia from destroying everything. The Ultima spell flickered into existence, gaining power rapidly. Rinally tried to summon her Black Witch armor, so that she could cast a Stop spell or even something else that would give Laguna and the others a chance to escape, but to no avail. She didn't have enough energy to even try a low-class Fire spell.

Then Laguna stepped forward and said, "Rinoa. Rinoa, I know you're in there. Listen to me. You are the bravest person I know. You're one of the strongest people I know. I know you and I have had our disagreements, but it never destroyed our friendship. When I offered you my protection, it wasn't to make you beholden to us or to keep you from hurting anyone. It was to give you a home. To give you a family. I know losing Edea hurt you. I know losing everyone you cared about broke your heart. And I know how hard it is for you to live in Esthar and see the stares and hear the whispers and pretend they don't hurt you. I know they do, and it's okay to feel hurt by it. But you're strong, Rinoa. And you're not alone."

He stood there, with his arms slightly spread, staring at Rinoa's face. From where Kaoru was standing beside Rinally, he could see tears making tracks down Rinoa's face, but it seemed as though she couldn't do anything to stop the spell. But then Rinoa half turned toward Ultimecia, her part of the Ultima spell tearing away from the main body and into a spell of its own. A bright prismatic light burst forth from Rinoa's hands as she pressed them against Ultimecia's stomach and a thunderclap deafened the entire area as the spell exploded. Kaoru was thrown off his feet by the concussion wave, and when he lifted his head, he could see Ultimecia crumpled on the ground with her mouth open in a silent scream, her golden eyes wide and staring accusingly at Rinoa, who lay on the ground opposite her, coughing and crying.

Laguna quickly signaled Kiros and Ward and the two men hurried to Rinoa to pull her away from Ultimecia. Laguna himself went to Ultimecia and picked her up, cradling her gently as if she were a child. But he said nothing to her, and placed her inside her Coffin again. Then, he shut the Coffin's open door and sealed Ultimecia away once again.

Rinoa pushed herself to her feet as Laguna approached her and hugged him tightly. She cried into his shoulder for a while, then quieted and pulled back from him. She looked toward Rinally and smiled.

"Thank you," Rinoa said softly, "all of you. I didn't think I had the strength to beat her. She had locked me away in a strange world where I was so helpless and weak and I needed protecting all the time. She was the only one who could..." She stopped and shook her head. "I heard you. But it took me recognizing the strength of my own heart to overcome her."

Rinally grinned. "Us good sorceresses have to stick together, you know?"

Rinoa nodded. "Speaking of..." She turned toward the Coffin. "Rinally, will you help me? I think between the two of us, we can make sure her Coffin can never be opened again and her darkness can't spread throughout this world."

"Just tell me what to do." Rinally moved up beside Rinoa, her Sorceress Keyblade in hand. Following Rinoa's instructions, the two of them began to weave together a Barrier spell layered cocoon-like around the Coffin. As they finished, the oppressive darkness of Ultimecia dissipated, as if a fresh wind had come through and cleaned the air.

Laguna looked up at the crystal-incased Coffin with a look of awe. Then he turned to Rinoa and Rinally and smiled. "You two are the most amazing sorceresses I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

Rinoa laughed. "Laguna, next time someone complains about me, I'll remind you of that."

"What's going to happen to the Coffin?" Kaoru asked as he and Kai approached the group.

Laguna's smile faltered and he looked at the Coffin. "I'm going to ensure that it's hidden somewhere no one can find it. Ultimecia will never be free again to reign Darkness upon this world."

The group then looked up at the roar of an engine as one of the transport vehicles appeared at the lip of the dunes, slowly trundling its way down toward them.

"I guess that's our signal that we can go." Kai said, folding his arms over his chest.

Rinally smiled, delighted at the thought of seeing her sister again and traveling with her to wherever their new destination would be. She helped load the crystallized Coffin into one of the transports and joined her friends in another, and when they returned to Esthar, Rin immediately went to find Yukari. They stayed the night there in Esthar, recovering their strength and energy, and in the morning, Laguna personally drove them out to the desert where the three of them had first arrived in Esthar. There, Laguna, Kiros, Ward, Ellone, and Rinoa said their farewells to Kaoru, Kai, Rinally, and Yukari. Then, Kai summoned Sanctuary and used his Keyblade to open a door to the Paths of Darkness. One by one, they stepped inside, and then the portal closed behind them, immersing them in the illuminated darkness.

Yukari clung to Rinally's hand. "Where are we going now?"

Rinally grinned at her sister. "Wherever the road takes us."


	64. Chapter 64

Sixty-Three - Radiant Garden

The Paths of Darkness twisted and turned for what felt like hours, but their travel was peaceful and quiet. Yukari stared around at everything with wide eyes, as if she couldn't believe where she was. Rinally explained to her that they were safe because of Kai's powers, that he was special in this place because he wielded a Keyblade of Darkness. Even Rin now wielded a Keyblade, and hers had a Darkness affinity as well, so she was helping protect Yukari and Kaoru, who had a Keyblade of Light. Yukari only stared with her mouth open in awe as all three of them summoned their Keyblades to prove it to her.

When they reached the end of the path, Kai closed his eyes to open the portal that would take them out of the Paths of Darkness. The shimmering rip opened onto a wide plateau that was steeped in bright sunlight, and Rinally went through with Yukari first. Kaoru was second, followed by Kai. Once safely on the other side, Kai closed the doorway, and sucked in a deep breath as if he had just been punched in the chest.

Kaoru grabbed his shoulder, a worried expression on his face. "Kai? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Kai replied, his syllables tinged with a growl. "This place just sucks. It's full of Light, and I wasn't prepared for it. Give me a minute; I'll be okay."

"It's because Kai is Darkness, right?" Yukari asked, looking up at Rinally. "The Light makes him sick."

Rinally nodded. "He'll be okay. Both Kaoru and Kai are affected intensely by the opposites of their affinities. But once their bodies adjust, they'll be okay."

Kaoru watched Kai for a long while, watching the pain lines in his face and the tenseness in his body slowly drain away. He met Kaoru's eyes and nodded, silently telling the smaller boy that he was fine now. Kaoru still looked worried, but nodded back, accepting Kai's assessment of himself.

Kai straightened and smiled at Yukari. "See? I'm okay."

Yukari searched his face much like Kaoru had done, but she said, "If you're not feeling well, you should sit down."

"Don't worry. I'm better now."

It was clear she didn't believe him, but Rinally squeezed her sister's shoulder and Yukari pressed her lips together to keep from saying anything else. Instead, she gripped Rinally's hand tight and stared at Kai. Kai stared back before looking at Kaoru.

Kaoru was staring upwards at a giant wall. Beyond the wall, he could see the very tops of roofs. They were all tiled, either red or blue, and they were clustered together, almost like certain buildings in Twilight Town had been. He knew this wasn't Twilight Town; it had a different feel to it, and far more Light than Twilight Town, almost as if there was a congregation of Light here that couldn't be found on other worlds, even ones he'd visited before. He could still feel the tinges of Darkness at the edges of his perception, but they were further away from where the four of them stood now. He met Kai's gaze, lifted his shoulders slightly, then pivoted to take stock of where they actually were.

They had emerged on a plateau that was bathed in bright sunlight. There looked to be a path that led up into the wall as it stretched around the cliffside and curved away out of sight. Kaoru started toward the path and found that it did go upwards, zigzagging up the cliffside until it disappeared into a gatehouse set into the wall. Where the path led from there, not even Kaoru could figure out until they went up there. He pointed it out to his friends, and they joined him as they headed up the cliffside. Up the zigzag path they walked until they reached the gated guardhouse. The gate wasn't locked, so Kaoru pushed it open, and it swung on soundless hinges to admit them all into the city. Kaoru headed out of the guardhouse and through a covered tunnel before he emerged out into a wide square that had several paths leading off it, one heading to what looked like a construction site with huge scaffolding set against the side of a building that looked halfway to being completed, another leading into what looked like a residential area, another to what looked like a market area, and yet another leading out of the city entirely.

"Laguna gave us some munny," Rinally said, holding up a small pouch. "Maybe we should get something to eat?"

"Probably wouldn't hurt." Kaoru replied. He looked at Kai, but the redhead only shrugged as if he didn't much care what they did. He still looked a little peaky, but his color was returning, so Kaoru was certain that Kai was getting used to this world. "Besides, we have to find out where we are."

Rin led the way this time, taking the path toward the market area. It was bustling with people, which was a stark contrast to Twilight Town and Traverse Town, and no one seemed to pay the four strangers any mind, even smiling at them as if Kaoru, Kai, Rinally, and Yukari were actual denizens of the world. It felt so much like Paradise City's shopping district that Kaoru found himself relaxing here, but a part of him also said it was because Light was in such abundance in this place that he felt much stronger than he probably really was.

As Kai and Kaoru waited for the girls to pick out snacks at a sandwich stall set up along one side of the street, Kaoru studied the buildings and the people around them without trying to seem too obvious at being out of place. None of the buildings seemed to have signs of wear or damage, nor did the people seem to be afraid of any danger that might be lurking about. Snippets of conversation he overheard spoke about the world being quiet and peaceful for some time, for the world seemed to have an abundance of protectors and an anti-Heartless system that activated each time a Heartless reared its little black head. The only places people really avoided was a place called The Great Maw and an area past the Bailey, which Kaoru assumed was where he and his friends had arrived. Some changes had been made to the town over the long years, such as the wall that had been built to ensure no surprises came in from the places where Heartless roamed free and unaccosted, not that the wall did much to prevent people from going _out_ , and the various gatehouses that had been installed to allow access to certain areas that were often off-limits for the public but were where the world's protectors had to get to quickly and couldn't afford to dodge traffic or be stopped by people.

But Kaoru never once heard anyone call the world by its name, and he was afraid to ask, not wanting to stand out as someone not belonging here. After all, they didn't know if this world was a hub world and therefore saw plenty of visitors, or if it was a Closed World as Lumina Cross had been, and they had only gotten in because of Kai's ability to open portals between worlds by accessing the Paths of Darkness.

Kai nudged Kaoru with his elbow, making the small blonde look up at him. "Have you heard anyone say any names about the world's protectors?" Kai asked.

Kaoru shook his head. "Not really. Someone did mention a Leon and a Yuffie, and then there was a Merlin. But they didn't say much else."

"That's what I heard, too."

"I wonder if Rin and Yukari heard any more."

The girls arrived a few minutes later, and Rin canted her head to one side, her shoulders lifting in a shrug when Kaoru asked her. "I heard pretty much the same things you guys did. Only there was an Aerith that someone was talking about. She sells flowers on the street corner most days, but she wasn't there today."

"Yeah," agreed Yukari. "The lady who was talking was really upset because she wanted a bouquet to surprise someone with, and Aerith wasn't there."

"Did you two hear anything else?"

"Only that there had to be something important going on, because the Committee or whatever had suddenly suggested that people be on the look out for anything strange."

"Like what kind of strange?"

Rinally shrugged. "Heartless strange, I guess. People have been talking about the Heartless like they talk about the weather. But I haven't heard anything really important, except that _maybe_ something might be going on, because the Committee doesn't make suggestions unless something dangerous might happen."

Then the four of them found a place where they could sit without being in the way of pedestrians and Rinally and Yukari passed out sandwiches and drinks. Kaoru ate his sandwich almost absentmindedly, watching the people in the crowd as they went about their business. He wished there was more information that people were willingly giving in their every-day conversations, but he also understood why they were being so miserly with it. It had been the same with people in Paradise City; no one wanted to give tourists any more reason to stay and catch a glimpse of something or somebody if they didn't think they could do so while they were touring the city and its special places. And in Kaoru's experience, unless there was no other choice, it was best for strangers to a world to try not to be strangers if they could fit in easily. Eventually, the strangers would either move on or find where they needed to be.

Kaoru finished his bite of sandwich and began to lift his water bottle to his mouth when he caught a flash of something in the crowd, joining the flow of people as if it had been there all along. Blinking, Kaoru stood up to try and find that flash, earning curious looks from his friends. He didn't explain his behavior, just continuing to stare out onto the moving crowd to try and find what he had seen out of the corner of his eye. It had been silver, not quite the flash of metal in sunlight, but more muted, more subtle. And not quite a there-and-gone flash either, for Kaoru had gotten more than a brief glimpse of it but not enough of a sighting to make out what it actually had been. But his heart had begun hammering in his chest as adrenaline rushed through his system as his memories of what felt to be a lifetime ago began to bubble up in his mind.

He reached up to his neck and gripped his headphones.

His eyes remained riveted on the crowd, near the last place he had seen that silvery flash.

Then, he saw it.

Moving away from the crowd was a tall silver-haired man dressed in a white and yellow jacket, dark blue pants, and sneakers. He had a bag over one shoulder, and he was facing away from Kaoru, but there was no mistaking that man. He wasn't alone; there was a young woman beside him dressed in a pink tank top and a pink skirt, with white sneakers on her feet. She had long mulberry-colored hair that had two small braids along the sides that joined together in a larger braid that hung down with her otherwise straight and free hair. Kaoru didn't recognize the woman, but he knew the man. There was no way he could forget Riku.

Kaoru didn't dare call out across the crowd, but he looked down at his friends and said, "We need to go. Now."

"What?" Rinally started. "We haven't finished eating yet."

"Wrap it up and bring it with you, but we have to go. I think I know where we are, and if I'm right, we need to move."

Rinally blinked, glanced at her sister, then at Kai. Kai was already surging to his feet, wrapping his half-eaten sandwich and stuffing it into his pack. Sighing, Rin started to do the same, then helped Yukari wrap her food up and stuffed both hers and her sister's into her backpack. "I hope you know what you're doing, Kaoru." Rin grumbled.

"Yeah, so do I."

Though Kaoru was itching to move, he held himself back until his companions had situated themselves. He hadn't lost sight of Riku yet, but the silver-haired man was getting further away from them. The second they were ready, Kaoru started after Riku, dodging people with practiced ease. Kai was keeping pace with him, and Rinally and Yukari were bringing up the rear, holding onto each other's hands so they wouldn't lose each other.

As the crowd thinned out, it was easier for Kaoru and his friends to navigate the streets. Riku and his companion left the shopping district and entered the courtyard where Kaoru had arrived not too long ago. Rather than staying there, though, Riku turned for the street that appeared to travel toward a residential area. His voice and that of his companion's drifted back to Kaoru, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He only continued to follow Riku and the woman with a single-minded intensity, waiting for the streets to clear of people before he dared to call out Riku's name. The behavior of the crowd in the shopping district had shown him that people had known who Riku was, but they hadn't approached him, as if there was some sort of signal going out that told everyone that he didn't want to be bothered, or couldn't be bothered, as if he were on some sort of important mission.

The residential area was quiet and peaceful, with laundry hanging on lines between the buildings. The street steadily widened until it opened into another set of streets, one of which Riku and his companion were heading toward at the other end. Afraid that he would lose them if they took that far street, which slanted downwards toward somewhere Kaoru couldn't see, he finally drew breath into his lungs and shouted.

"RIKU!"

The silver-haired man froze immediately. So did his companion. Kaoru stopped moving maybe thirty or forty feet away from Riku and his companion, and Kai, Rin, and Yukari ranged themselves either beside him or behind him, in Yukari's case. He stood there, fists pressed into his thighs, watching as Riku and his friend slowly pivoted to face the direction from where Riku's name had come from.

Riku's aquamarine blue eyes, blue eyes that Kaoru definitely could never forget, went wide with recognition. The man's gaze traveled from Kaoru's feet to his head and back again before lingering on the headphones resting around Kaoru's neck. Slowly, his eyes then went to Kai, and they darkened slightly when they rested upon the redhead. Once he'd finished his appraisal of Kai, Riku switched his gaze to Rinally, studying her in much the same way. The woman beside him looked confused for a brief moment, but recognition also flooded her face as she looked at Rinally. Rin, too, seemed to tense with knowing, apparently recognizing the woman.

"Kaoru?" Riku called back, apparently deciding to shout rather than approach.

Kaoru grinned widely and said, "I know you and Sora said you'd come find me in ten years, but I guess I'm the one doing the finding."

Riku blinked, and then his face relaxed into a smile. He looked at the woman and said something, who also replied and gestured toward Rinally. They apparently made a decision then, for they approached Kaoru and his friends together.

Staring up at Riku, Kaoru was reminded of the time when he was four, staring up at the two incredible men that had fought to save him from the monster that had attacked him. Riku was still taller than him, and taller than Kai, even, which made all of them have to look up to meet his eyes. The woman was only as tall as Riku's shoulders, but somehow she seemed to be taller. Kaoru wondered if it was in the way she held herself, or if it was because of the light she radiated with. Her light reminded him of Belle, and he began to wonder if this woman was a Princess of Heart, just like Belle and Tae were.

"We got word about you and your friends from Olette not too long ago," Riku said as he came to stand before Kaoru, Kai, Rin, and Yukari. "She said she met you all maybe minutes after we left."

Kaoru nodded. "A lot has happened between then and now." A moment later, it dawned on him where they must be if Riku was actually here. "This is Radiant Garden, isn't it?"

"That it is," said the woman. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kairi." As she said her name, Kaoru became even more certain that Kairi was a Princess of Heart. Light seemed to radiate off her in waves, bright and pure. He shook her hand, then looked over at Kai when the redhead winced after shaking Kairi's hand. Kairi studied Kai as she shook Rin's hand, then smiled at the girl. "It's nice to see you again, Rinally. And you, Yukari."

Yukari beamed. "You remembered my name!"

Kairi smiled, then looked at Riku. Riku was still studying Kaoru, though his attention then turned to Kai. "Like calls to like, doesn't it?" Kairi asked with a knowing smile.

Riku glanced at her and scowled slightly. "Shut up."

"Where's Sora?" Kaoru asked.

"He's back at the base. There was a fluctuation of Darkness not too long ago, so everyone went out to see what it was. We were heading back when you called out."

"Maybe it was Kai." Yukari supplied. "He can open portals! It's sooo cool! We went from this one world where I was and through this really dark and creepy place to here."

Riku's eyebrow rose and he turned to regard Kai again. "Perhaps. The Heartless have been moving quite a bit lately in The Great Maw and beyond it, so we've been a little more on edge lately."

Kai folded his arms over his chest. "They're probably moving because the Brotherhood's making them do it. We crossed paths with a few of them over the worlds we've gone to, and we learned what their leader, Ennio, is really after."

"Well, before we get into that," Riku said, "we'll take you back to our base of operations. That way, you only have to tell the story once, and you'll only have to show off your Keyblades once."

"Why would we show them off at all?" Kaoru questioned, falling into step beside the older Keyblade wielder.

"Oh, mostly because everyone's curious about your Keyblades," Kairi replied. "You two have very special Keyblades, so it's only natural everyone wants to take a look at them."

Kaoru and Kai glanced at one another. "Special Keyblades?" Kai asked.

"There are many different kinds of Keyblades, but there are generally two types: forged and created. Forged Keyblades can have varied affinities and can change their shape, depending on what Keychain gets attached. Sora's Kingdom Key is like that. My Way to Dawn is a forged Keyblade that is strong in Darkness, while Kairi's Destiny's Embrace is a forged Keyblade that's strong in Light."

"Because she's a Princess of Heart." Kaoru reasoned.

Kairi smile had an odd note to it. "I heard from Belle that you could see Light in other people, Kaoru. It's no wonder you have a created Keyblade."

"Created Keyblades," Riku continued as though he hadn't been interrupted, "are Keyblades forged from the power of the heart. Sora thinks that your Keyblades are this type, and since seeing you now, I have to agree. Being a denizen of the Dark myself, I can sense how powerful you are, Kai. No doubt your strength matches Kaoru's with Light. But your Keyblades make you incredibly vulnerable as well."

Thinking back to his first encounter with Hiromu in Halloween Town, Kaoru said, "Because if our Keyblades are destroyed, so are our hearts."

Both Kairi and Riku looked startled that Kaoru would make such an astute assessment, and their reactions confirmed to Kaoru that his guess was dead on. Kai looked at Kaoru with a startled expression and Rinally stared with wide eyes. "That's why Hiromu and Volstag always went for your heart." she said. "If they could destroy your heart, they could destroy your Keyblade."

"But how did they know?" Kaoru wondered. "Is it because Hiromu has a Keyblade too?"

Riku blinked. "A third Keyblade wielder?"

Kaoru nodded. "My friend... or at least, I thought he was my friend... he has a Keyblade, too. But it's not like mine or Kai's or even Rin's. It looked like Sora's Kingdom Key, just red and gold."

"You have a Keyblade too?" Kairi asked, looking at Rinally.

The pink-haired girl only nodded. "But I don't think it's like Kaoru's or Kai's."

"We'll see, won't we?" Riku pointed ahead to a modest little house nestled among a garden and a brick wall. "That's our base. I'm sure everyone's waiting."

Riku and Kairi entered the house first, calling to everyone who might be inside. Then Kaoru, Kai, Rinally, and Yukari entered, finding at least ten people gathered around in a common room that was filled with furniture. Kaoru recognized Sora immediately, but he didn't know who anyone else was. There was a group of three - two men and a woman - who stood close together. The tallest man was a brunette who wore earthen colored tones, then the woman who had blue hair and wore blue colored clothes, and the last, a blonde man who wore black and silver. There was another brunette who was leaning against the wall and who had a scar cutting across his face on a diagonal, right between his eyes. An elderly man sat on a couch with a cup of tea in his hands, a long white beard spilling onto the floor. There was a young woman in short beige shorts, a green top, and black hair held back from her face with a red bandanna, and beside her was a tall woman with long brown hair dressed in a pink sundress. An older blonde man sat in a chair with his feet propped up on the table, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.

Riku took the time to introduce everyone - Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Aerith, Leon, Yuffie, Merlin, Cid, and of course, Sora - then introduced Kaoru, Kai, Rinally, and Yukari to everyone.

Sora grinned brightly. "It's not quite how I thought it'd be, but I'm glad you're here and safe, Kaoru."

Kaoru smiled, unable to help himself. "I'm glad I found you, Sora. I don't know what I would've done if we had just kept traveling and traveling without ever crossing paths with you."

"If you've arrived here on Radiant Garden," started Aqua, "then there must be a reason."

Kaoru's smile faltered. "There is."

With Rinally and Kai's help, Kaoru described their adventures across the worlds they had visited. He described the antics of the Brotherhood, then began to explain that everything they had been fighting against was nothing but a smokescreen thought up by Ennio, who was the leader of the Brotherhood. The fact that Ennio wanted to reach Kingdom Hearts surprised everyone, and there was a moment of protests and exclamations in which Kaoru was forced to fall silent, but when Sora held up his hand, quiet filled the room. Kaoru continued his story, describing what had happened with Haiku, then with Lorne, then with Volstag. He even talked about Hiromu and Tae and caught sight of a strange emotion that flickered across the faces of Riku, Sora, and Kairi as he described what Hiromu had done to Tae with his Keyblade.

Then Sora had Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally summon their Keyblades, and he, Riku, Kairi, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus - who were all Keyblade Masters themselves - studied Guardian, Sanctuary, and Sorceress.

"There isn't time to train you right now," Sora said at last, once he allowed the three youngest Keyblade wielders to put away their weapons, "considering that Ennio is definitely after Kingdom Hearts, and therefore we have to move quickly. It seems you three have a pretty good grasp of your own weapons, which isn't surprising."

"Definitely not," agreed Aqua. "There will be time for each of you to train with us after this is over, and really get a feel for your Keyblades. Perhaps even test for the Mark of Mastery."

"Right now," Leon said, pushing away from the wall, "our goal is to keep Ennio from reaching Kingdom Hearts. He's already got one Key, if Hiromu is helping him. Hiromu is probably acting as the Key to Darkness, so Ennio needs a Key to Light. With Tae as you say she is, then she's of no use to him, as a Princess of Heart."

"Kingdom Hearts will appear when there's a great concentration of both Light and Darkness and strong hearts." Sora said. "It appeared to me and Riku when we both started this adventure as a Doorway, and a false one appeared in the sky as a yellow gem-like heart when Xemnas and Organization XIII collected enough hearts to forge one. There's no telling what this one might appear as if he's successful."

"And it appeared to us as a blue gem," Aqua added, gesturing to herself, Terra, and Ventus, but she elaborated no further.

Kaoru listened quietly as the Keyblade Masters, Leon, and the others discussed Ennio's chances of getting Kingdom Hearts to appear. He sat in his chair and stared at the whorls of the grain in the wood of the table. Even if Ennio only had Hiromu to act as the Key to Darkness, with a high enough concentration of hearts, he could still make Kingdom Hearts appear. The only thing he'd be prevented from doing would be entering the place, because he didn't have the Key to Light. He listened to Rinally ask questions about the two Keys, but it was clear that no one really knew what the Keys were. As Kingdom Hearts had appeared to all the Keyblade wielders in the room save Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally, there wasn't an accurate correlation between the factors. There was always Light and Dark. There were always strong hearts. But was Kingdom Hearts an entity of its own, lured to these pockets of power, or did it have to be forged by a combination of powers? No one knew, and no one understood the circumstances that made the place appear, only that it did, and only that evil couldn't be allowed to get their hands upon it.

Sora claimed that Kingdom Hearts was Light, a powerful source of it, but Riku said it also had Darkness deep inside. They both had fought Xemnas in his false one, preventing its power from being used by evil. The one that Aqua and her friends had seen had simply vanished, never to be seen again.

Had the circumstances not been met to bring Kingdom Hearts into being when Sora and Riku first encountered it? Or had there been the right conditions, but not enough of the something that made Kingdom Hearts manifest itself as more than a Door?

Kaoru pondered this over and over again, trying to find new facts to an old argument that had no new information to use. But he thought about Hiromu and he thought about Tae, and he thought about how both of his friends were being used by Ennio, and how Ennio had used Haiku and Volstag, and how he had used Lorne. He thought of how Ennio had manipulated a great many people, collecting stuff from them or from the worlds. He thought of how Ennio had mastered drawing Darkness out of people but had yet to master Light.

A theory wormed its way into Kaoru's mind, a theory that made him dread the future even more, because of what the theory required to be valid. Because of what it decided Kingdom Hearts required to be summoned.

However, before Kaoru could interrupt the conversation and explain his theory, the door to the house was thrown open and a bundle of white with a red pom-pom attached to its head tumbled through the door, its little wings flapping hurriedly to turn it around so it could slam the door. It slowly turned its head to regard the congregation within the house, its tiny body shivering.

"Sora!" the strange creature cried. "There's trouble, kupo! Big trouble!"

"Mog, calm down." Sora said, rising from his chair and heading over to the creature. "What's going on?"

"The Heartless in The Great Maw are moving, kupo! Some have even come into town and started attacking people, kupo! And there's something terrible going on at the Maw, too. I heard someone say they saw a Keyblade wielder there, kupo!"

Kaoru tensed. The only other known Keyblade wielders were Hiromu and a King Mickey, and Sora assured everyone that King Mickey was still in Disney Castle, guarding that place from attack. That meant the only other Keyblade wielder not accounted for was Hiromu, and if he was at The Great Maw, so was Tae, and so was Ennio.

"So it's starting," Kai said, his deep voice echoing through the room like a death toll.

"It's starting." agreed Sora, turning to face his fellow Keyblade wielders and the others in the room. "And this is how we're going to stop it."


	65. Chapter 65

Sixty-Four - Radiant Garden

They split into several teams. Terra, Aqua, and Ventus accompanied Leon, Yuffie, and Cid out into Radiant Garden to defend the town and its populace from the Heartless that had made it into the city and had managed to avoid being destroyed by the defense system. Aerith would stay behind with Merlin, and Rinally again managed to convince Yukari to stay with Aerith. Sora, Riku, and Kairi, accompanied by Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally, headed out for The Great Maw.

Kaoru's stomach was twisting terribly. He didn't want to fight Hiromu, but he also knew that he wouldn't have a choice. If he wanted to save his friends, then he would have to fight Hiromu. But to get there, the six of them had to fight their way through what seemed like waves of Heartless, each one having a black rod embedded in them. Like their younger counterparts, Sora, Riku, and Kairi had armor that they donned when they touched bracers wrapped around their left arms. It encased their whole bodies from head to toe, though they all discarded their helmets. Both Kaoru and Kai summoned their Keyblades and entered into their Knight modes, while Rinally stayed in her standard form, not needing either of her Witch modes for the moment. Her normal attacks seemed to be enough to defeat the Heartless that came up against her, and she wanted to save her strength for what was ahead of them.

They arrived at the Maw and stopped short. Near the edge of the cliff stood Hiromu, as Kaoru had feared, but what really stopped his heart was that Tae was there too. They both stood slightly behind and to the right of a tall man that Kaoru recognized as Ennio, who hadn't changed much since their first encounter in Belle's world. Now the man wore his black coat like a cape, his arms raised to the sky, which was covered with thick dark clouds that jumped and sparked with lightning. Hiromu noticed them first, his Keyblade appearing in his hand and a slash of a smile appearing on his face. Tae remained completely impassive.

As if Hiromu's actions alerted him for the first time to the presence of newcomers, Ennio lowered his arms and slowly turned to face the six Keyblade wielders. His eyes lazily roamed over each of them, studying them all. He smiled lazily as he spotted Kairi, and smiled even wider as Riku and Sora edged forward, shielding their Princess from anything Ennio might do. However, he seemed content to do nothing for the moment, merely half turning to gesture out at a sea of roiling black beyond the Maw.

"Isn't it beautiful?" he asked, his voice deep and rough. "I've worked hard to collect enough Heartless here to stand for the Key of Dark. Already it's begun. Soon, Kingdom Hearts will appear, and I will use the second Key to attain the power contained within."

"You can force Kingdom Hearts to appear," said Sora, "but you'll never be able to enter. I'll make sure of that."

"Oh, I know you will. So it doesn't matter which of you becomes my Key of Light. All that matters is you do. But I don't like these odds. Six against two? Why don't we make this more fair?"

With a sweep of his arm, Ennio unleashed a purple-edged black tidal wave toward the group of six Keyblade wielders. It forced them to scatter to avoid being hit. Kaoru dove to the side and rolled forward, bringing Guardian up to stop Hiromu from braining him with his Keyblade. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kai and Rinally blocked from helping him by a ring of strange-looking Heartless, almost similar to the ones they had fought in Midgar, but larger and with bigger blades on their arms. Sora, Riku, and Kairi were similarly occupied with their own enemies. Kaoru knew immediately that he was on his own, and it suited him just fine this time.

He shoved off and forced Hiromu back, not bothering with any words as he swung Guardian, exchanging blows with Hiromu and driving him back to the edge of the cliff. Kaoru spotted Tae near Ennio, who had turned his attention back to the sky and the roiling clouds, as if the fighting going on behind him didn't matter. He feinted to the left, and when Hiromu fell for it, Kaoru rushed for Tae. He was only able to scrape her shoulder with his fingertips before Hiromu forced him back. Snarling with hate-filled intensity, Hiromu's blows came hard and fast, and Kaoru blocked or parried each blow, not daring to retaliate.

They danced backwards across the cliff, growing further away from Tae and the others. They traded blows, their Keyblades ringing loudly as they clashed. Kaoru gained the advantage at one point when he drew upon the power of his heart and his friends and the Light, his swings coming faster and his world gaining a clarity that he'd had only when he'd fought Volstag after awakening his White Knight Mode. Then Hiromu was on the defensive, only just able to stop Guardian from hitting him. Back and forth they traded the advantage, the offense and defense, but it seemed that, at last, they were perfectly matched.

"Are you really going to kill me, Kaoru?" Hiromu asked when they closed again. "Are you going to stop me? You couldn't before, remember. You think we're still _friends._ "

"We _are_ friends!" Kaoru snapped back. "I don't know what Ennio told you, but it's all lies. He doesn't want to create a balance between Light and Dark; he just wants the power of Kingdom Hearts all to himself!"

"Not to himself. He promised to share that power with me. And when I get that power, I'll finally be able to release Tae. I'll be able to protect her for real. And you'll be dead! Along with all your friends!"

"You're not stupid, Hiromu! I know there's a part of your heart that knows this is wrong, that everything Ennio's told you is wrong!"

"You're the stupid one, Kaoru! You couldn't defeat me in Halloween Town because you're so weak. You won't beat me now."

They broke away and closed again, trading blows over and over again. Kaoru was able to dodge a thrust and whirled away to throw Guardian for a Cascade. His Holy Shield shimmered around him to protect him from a blast of sickly green darkness that came from Hiromu's hand, a darkness completely different from Kai's. He could tell immediately that it was tainted darkness, that Hiromu had given himself completely over to the evil influence of Ennio. Determined to save his friend, and to save Tae, Kaoru clenched his teeth and forced down all the feelings of fear and regret and sadness and focused on only what was important.

The entire one side of the cliff was their arena. Kaoru didn't bother to fight conservatively because Hiromu certainly wasn't, and he could feel the tingling healing magic Rinally sent his way closing any wounds he might have sustained in his fight. He caught glimpses of Sora, protecting Riku from the Heartless while he caught his breath; Kairi and Rinally, their backs to the path while they fought to prevent any Heartless from getting past them; and Kai, who was fighting desperately to reach Kaoru but was stymied by the constant flow of Heartless. Kaoru knew he was on his own and that was fine by him. His theory was still fresh in his mind, and he didn't want anyone interfering if, as he believed, his theory was correct. More than that, though, he didn't want Kai coming over to help him fight Hiromu, because Kai would definitely kill Hiromu this time, and Kaoru was afraid that Tae might interfere like she did last time. If she did, Kai might not be able to stop himself, and he might kill her too.

Kaoru stopped Hiromu's strike to his chest with Guardian, riposted, and struck his friend's Keyblade wide. This time he didn't hesitate; he brought Guardian around and struck at Hiromu's chest and stomach, crumpling him in half with each strike. The last hit Kaoru gave threw Hiromu back into the ground, where he tumbled heels over head before sliding to a stop on his stomach. Using his Keyblade like a crutch, Hiromu struggled to his feet, using the back of his hand to wipe away a stream of blood that came from his lip.

"Not bad," Hiromu growled, "not bad at all, Kaoru. You really think you can kill me?"

"I'm not going to kill you." Kaoru replied, his tone hard.

"I'm not going to give you a choice."

Hiromu lunged at Kaoru, his Keyblade flickering through the air. Kaoru just barely stopped it, and then they began trading blows again, slamming their Keyblades together and trying to find a weakness in the other's defenses, or trying to feint and get in a lucky hit before the other realized his mistake. Kaoru shifted his feet and danced around Hiromu, striking where he could and trying to make openings if he thought he could. Hiromu answered him strike for strike, parry for parry, moving defensively when he couldn't get an opening and moving offensively when Kaoru backed off from a killing blow.

The world spun around Kaoru, and time seemed to stand still despite knowing that it was still ticking along as it always did. His lungs burned and his breath came quick and sharp. His only consolation was that Hiromu seemed to be in much the same state. But Hiromu also seemed no closer to stopping, either from pure exhaustion or pain. Kaoru's hurts were eased by Rinally's healing spells, but she could do nothing for his own exhaustion. And her attention was often commanded by Kai or Sora or Riku or Kairi or even the Heartless, and Kaoru could hear her voice crying out with various offensive spells to keep the Heartless at bay. He tried not to focus on how much his arms felt like lead, and how much his legs burned, or how much he hurt on the inside, in his heart. He focused on Hiromu and knew if he didn't take his friend out of this fight, he might just lose Hiromu forever.

Kaoru backed off by a few steps, as if he were too tired to keep on with his offensive. A quick glance showed him that Ennio was still unconcerned, his eyes still on the sky, his arms still raised. Tae still stood by, statuesque. The irony of her position allowed her a perfect view of his fight with Hiromu, and Kaoru could only imagine what she was thinking if she could really see them despite her catatonic state. Then he turned his eyes back on Hiromu, wondering if the other boy had taken the bait. He had, and he was charging, his Keyblade held for a thrust that Kaoru couldn't hope to avoid, even with his Holy Shield to protect him. But Kaoru knew where Hiromu was aiming, and as that gold Keyblade came howling in, Kaoru simply let himself fall backwards. When his back hit the ground and the Keyblade whooshed over him, Kaoru lifted his legs and kicked at Hiromu's hand, connecting hard enough to bruise Hiromu's fingers. The shock of the attack coupled with the pain made Hiromu release his Keyblade's hilt on instinct, and Kaoru rolled to the side, kicking Hiromu's legs out from under him as he went.

He rolled smoothly back to his feet and faced Hiromu, who had face-planted into the stone and lay dazed for a minute. As if realizing he was weaponless and Kaoru held the advantage, Hiromu scrambled to his hands and knees and scrambled to pick up his Keyblade. Kaoru didn't let him reach it. He jumped toward the Keyblade and kicked it away, twirling Guardian around to shove the point into Hiromu's face. Hiromu froze at the sight of Guardian, his eyes going wide. Then he met Kaoru's face and a mask of pure anger overcame his features. Rather than staying still at Guardian's edge, Hiromu lunged toward Kaoru, tackling him to the ground. Kaoru yelped as he hit and lost his grip on his Keyblade, and then it was all he could to to protect his head from Hiromu's fists. He could taste blood and figured he'd either bitten his tongue or Hiromu had split his lip. He shoved Hiromu's fist away and retaliated with a punch of his own, knocking Hiromu backwards but not off completely. They continued to struggle on the ground with each other, and then Kaoru broke away from Hiromu, swirling back to his feet and summoning Guardian back to his hand. Across from him, Hiromu similarly armed himself with his Keyblade and he spat out a glob of blood onto the ground.

"The only way you're going to stop me is to kill me, Kaoru." Hiromu growled.

Kaoru didn't answer. Instead he set his feet and assumed a defensive position and closed off doors in his mind to everything around him except one person.

Hiromu charged and Kaoru didn't even try to block his attack.

Then Tae was between them, her arms spread wide, just like she had done to stop Kai from hurting Hiromu in Halloween Town. "Hiromu!" she cried. "Stop! Please!"

Hiromu's eyes went wide. He'd already committed to the swing to kill Kaoru and couldn't stop it in time. They both knew it. But Tae seemed to be ready. Kaoru saw Hiromu close his eyes tight as a bright light radiated out of Tae, and that golden Keyblade reacted to it, shimmering and vanishing before it reached her. Hiromu fell to his hands and knees before Tae, half curled up in the dirt at her feet, his eyes squeezed shut and leaking tears.

Kaoru too collapsed, too relieved and too tired to keep standing. "Hi, Tae," he breathed.

She half turned to smile at him. "Hi, Kaoru. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"I should have fought harder. I should've tried harder." She knelt beside him then and gave him a tight, sisterly hug. "I tried to bring you with me and Hiromu when Paradise City was destroyed, just like she tried to show me, but I wasn't strong enough. The most I could do was make sure you reached somewhere safe."

Kaoru wrapped his arms around her in an equally tight, brotherly hug. "I know. And you did. I'm sure you did everything you could, everything Kairi told you to do."

Tae pulled back, blinking. "How did you know it was Kairi?"

This time, Kaoru grinned. "Because you and she share the same light. You're a Princess of Heart and so is she, and when you connected, she shared her light with you. That's how I was able to reach you, once I shut out everything else."

Tae's eyes watered. "Oh, Kaoru."

"Don't worry about me. I think you should worry about him."

Tae turned to face Hiromu. He had shifted out of his position to sit on his rear with his back turned to Kaoru and Tae. His head was tilted back, watching the sky and the storm clouds there. Tae glanced at Kaoru, then nodded, and got up to move over to Hiromu's side. She touched his shoulder, and smiled as he looked at her. "Hiromu," Tae started.

"Don't. Just. Don't." Hiromu looked away from her, back to the sky. "I did what I could to protect you, and Kaoru was the one who reached you. He freed you. Just like your Keyblade wielder should do."

"Of course he freed me. His power is one that connects. That's what made us all friends in the first place. Because we both had Kaoru."

"You should get out of here while you have the chance, Tae."

"Not without you."

Now Hiromu looked at her, startled. He glanced at Kaoru, who only shrugged and said, "Tae's always been a little dense, even when she was little. But it wasn't just my feelings that reached her, Hiromu. Yours did too. I only woke her up from the state you put her in."

Tae smiled wider. "Hiromu, Kaoru's like a brother to me. He's always been my best friend, my guardian, my protector. And yeah, I like him, but I don't _like_ him. Not like the way you think. It's always been you."

Hiromu's eyes widened even further, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You said it yourself in Halloween Town," Tae continued. "You're the one who ended up with me. You're the one who was always with me. You're the one who protected me through everything. You're the one closest to my heart."

Hiromu's eyes watered and his lower lip trembled. "Tae, I..."

She shook her head. "I know. You did everything for me. To help me and protect me. Kaoru was chosen to be a Keyblade wielder by Sora. You were chosen by me. Stupid."

As Hiromu and Tae stared at each other, the former trying not to bawl his eyes out while the latter just smiled gently and understandingly, Kaoru became aware of an utter silence enveloping the Maw. His awareness returning to him now, he looked to find his friends and saw Kai still struggling against the Heartless, alongside Sora and Riku. Rinally and Kairi were still at the mouth of the trail they had used to reach The Great Maw, but Rinally had donned her White Witch armor and Kairi was standing behind her, her eyes riveted upon the sky. Slowly, Kaoru turned his gaze upward and gasped. His sound brought Hiromu and Tae's attention to the sky, as well.

The clouds had parted, revealing a deep velvet black sky. Hanging like a jewel upon that bed of velvet was a giant crystalline heart, a mix of blue and purple, radiating a beautiful light that spilled down upon the Maw but didn't quite touch anything below.

"Kingdom Hearts, arrived at last." Ennio purred from Kaoru's immediate left. Before the blonde could react, a pressure hit him broadside and flung him at least five feet into the air. Kaoru hit the ground on his side and cried out from the pain, unable to even struggle upright because the breath had been knocked out of him and everything hurt. Ennio smiled down at Hiromu and Tae, his arms spread wide. "Arrived, called by the two of you. My little pawn and my pretty Key of Light."

Hiromu struggled to his feet and summoned his Keyblade to his hand, shielding Tae behind him. They stepped back away from Ennio, who slowly approached them, like a stalking cat. "Kaoru was right. You _lied_ to me."

"Doesn't matter now, does it? I searched worlds to figure out how to control Light, but it turns out you can't. Not like you can control the Heartless. The Princesses are nigh untouchable. Except her." Ennio pointed at Tae. "The ninth Princess of Heart, only meant to be tapped when a great calamity threatened not just the worlds but the World Between as well."

"You did it, didn't you?" Kaoru hissed, finally pushing himself up. "You tried to destroy Paradise City when I was four, but Sora and Riku stopped you. And then they sealed it so you couldn't hurt us anymore."

Ennio shrugged. "Little consequence now. Still, it's a shame. I could've had you and my pretty Key, all in one fell swoop if those two," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "hadn't interfered. But, as it is, it all worked out in the end, didn't it? My Key of Darkness, the negative emotions I gathered from all my experiments, given form in my false Heartless, and my Key of Light, the ninth Princess of Heart, awakened by the love of those precious to her."

Kaoru struggled to his feet, swaying slightly. Hiromu and Tae had reached the edge of the cliff; another step and they would fall into the roiling mass of Heartless below and be devoured. Ennio was only an arm's length away from Hiromu. The only way for the two of them to escape their predicament was to dodge to one side and hope Ennio couldn't move fast enough to catch them. It was likely futile, considering Ennio's considerable power. But Tae looked beyond Ennio and an expression of pure determination appeared on her face.

She met Ennio's manic gaze unflinchingly. "I will _never_ be your Key! Kingdom Hearts isn't for someone like you! It's a place of serenity and peace, and I won't let you throw it into chaos!"

Then she rushed right at him.

The move startled Ennio so much that he was actually knocked off balance as Tae shoved past him. Hiromu was quick to follow, if only to stop Ennio from reaching out and grabbing Tae before she could get out of range. The move was brave and self-sacrificing. Hiromu didn't have a chance to retreat far enough to get out Ennio's range before the man whirled back around to face him. With a look of pure rage upon his face, Ennio wrapped his fingers tight around Hiromu's throat. He lifted Hiromu off the ground by his neck, squeezing as he did so.

"You've gotten in my way for the last time, boy!" Ennio snarled. "First you seal my Key away and prevent me from using her, forcing me to create this farce just to get that Keyblade brat here to wake her up, and now you keep me from her again? Not anymore!"

Hiromu scrabbled at Ennio's wrist and shoulders as the man started to turn toward the edge of the cliff. Any second, they would be close enough for Ennio to simply throw Hiromu off the ledge and into the swarm of Heartless below.

Guardian came flying in when Ennio and Hiromu were about two or three feet from the edge. The Keyblade came in so fast that it forced Ennio to release Hiromu or lose his arm. He dropped Hiromu but gave him a light shove toward the edge of the cliff. Hiromu's arms pinwheeled, a look of pure panic and fear on his face as he started to lose his balance. But then Kaoru was there, grabbing onto his friend and spinning them, using the momentum to send Hiromu back onto the cliff and onto safer ground. That left Kaoru balanced precariously on the cliff's edge, and at the mercy of Ennio, who glared at Kaoru with rage and hate and lunged toward the blonde boy, catching him around the throat much like he had caught Hiromu, though this time it was with both hands.

"I'll crush the life from you, brat." Ennio hissed in Kaoru's face, lifting him clear off the ground.

"Kaoru!" Hiromu called, his voice filled with panic and fear.

Kaoru looked at Hiromu and smiled. "Don't worry about me. Just fight. Fight with everything you have."

Then he kicked out with his legs and caught Ennio in the chin with the flat of his shoes, forcing himself backwards and out of Ennio's grip. But the move came at a cost, a price Kaoru was willing to pay to save the lives of his friends.

The last thing Kaoru saw was Kai hurtling off the edge of the cliff after him. Then he was swallowed by the darkness of the Heartless sea below.


	66. Chapter 66

Sixty-Five - Radiant Garden

Rinally wasn't sure what was happening. The only thing she was positive about was that Kaoru had thrown himself off the cliff and into the mass of Heartless below the cliff, Kai had broken away from the Heartless he'd been fighting to dive after him, and Ennio was cackling madly as the giant crystalline structure that was Kingdom Hearts started to glow with an eerie light.

"He's dead!" Tae wailed, clutching onto Kairi as the older Princess of Heart tried to console her. "Kaoru's dead!"

Hiromu, now standing near to Rinally and far away from Sora and Riku, said nothing, but there were too many emotions warring with each other on his face to figure out what he was really feeling.

 _Kaoru, dead? And Kai too? No, they can't be._ Rinally refused to believe her two best friends were dead. That Kaoru's sacrifice had been the catalyst Ennio needed to open up Kingdom Hearts and take its power for himself. She squeezed her eyes tight.

 _Don't give up. It's our bonds that give us strength._

Kaoru's words, as if he'd actually spoken them.

Rinally opened her eyes with a startling revelation. Kaoru had described the ability to be able to sense Kai on any world they had been on, able to find his way to the other boy with uncanny precision, like a homing pigeon. He'd never mentioned being able to find her the same way, but he always had seemed to know what she needed when she needed it.

 _He's alive. They're both alive._ She rose to her feet and summoned Sorceress to her again, and summoned her Black Witch Mode. As the armor encased her, she closed her eyes and tried to get a feel for the Ultima spell that Ultimecia and Rinoa had used against them in Esthar. As she sorted out the different weavings of the spell, she opened her eyes and focused on her target. Then she let the spell build and build until she had no choice left to release it. The Ultima spell roared across the plateau and struck Ennio's cackling face head on, turning his cackle into a scream and engulfing his body in a strange conglomerate of color and heat.

"Rin!" Tae gasped between her sobs.

"They're still alive." Rin replied with a certain finality. "I can feel it in my heart. They're alive, and they're coming back to us. We just have to hold Ennio off until then."

"How?" Hiromu asked. "There's shit we can do against him, especially if he's got the powers of Kingdom Hearts now."

"He doesn't have them, not yet." Rinally half turned to look at Sora. "You and Riku were able to close the Door once, right?"

Sora nodded. "Riku was on the other side, though, pulling the Door closed while I pushed."

"The second time we defeated Xemnas while we were within the false Kingdom Hearts." Riku added. "Which I don't think Ennio is about to do."

Rinally looked back at Ennio, who lay sprawled on the ground twitching with the after-effects of her Ultima spell. He was slowly getting up, though, and Rinally could see that already he was being affected by the power of Kingdom Hearts. The Light was healing the wounds she had inflicted, causing steam to rise from his skin. She licked her lips and tightened her grip on Sorceress.

"If he gains mastery over Kingdom Hearts, I don't know how we'll beat him." Kairi said.

"It showed up when Kaoru reached Tae and woke her up and when Hiromu realized everything he'd done was a terrible mistake." Rinally said. "Which means some kind of condition was met to make it appear. But it didn't start to open until Kaoru sacrificed himself for Hiromu, just like how Riku sacrificed himself to make sure the Door closed, right?"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi glanced at each other. Riku said, "It's not quite like, but I see the similarities."

"Right. So we just have to keep the Door from _opening_ on this side. We push against it, Light against Light. We have two Princesses of Heart. If Kairi and Tae combine their powers, we should be able to stop the Door from opening. It's Ennio's Darkness that's opening the door, because the Darkness on the other side is fighting to get out."

"But if we don't distract Ennio, he's going to keep pulling on the Door to open it." pointed out Hiromu.

"So we distract him." Sora stepped to Rinally's side, attaching a Keychain to the end of his Kingdom Key. The plain-looking weapon suddenly materialized into a black and violet weapon, long and elegant. In his other hand appeared a second Keyblade, this one white and gold. "Riku."

The silver-haired man silently stepped to Rinally's other side. "Kairi, you think you and Tae can do this?"

"Yeah, definitely. Hiromu, you stay back with us. Rin?"

"I'm staying right here too." She gave a slight effort of will and her armor changed from black to white. "I'll be support, since you'll be busy."

Riku glanced at Sora over Rinally's head and offered a slight, knowing smile. Sora gave one in return, then started at a slow jog toward Ennio, picking up speed as he went. Riku kept pace with him, until he was within range to start the first step of his assault. Sora was right behind him. However, Ennio wasn't caught off-guard. Two black rods slid from his sleeves into his palms, elongating into what looked like pipes. He blocked Riku's strike with one and Sora's sweep with the other. His face was a complete mask of rage and hate and darkness seemed to start to seep from the wounds the light of Kingdom Hearts had started to heal, as if the healing magic had been stopped halfway through.

Rin supposed it had been, because behind her, Kairi and Tae were sitting cross-legged on the ground, holding onto each other's hand to complete a circle. Their eyes were closed, their faces in such serene expressions it was hard to believe they could achieve such a state considering what was happening around them. Rinally couldn't see anything but the two Princesses sitting there doing nothing, but she believed something was happening. Looking up at the sky, it seemed as though Kingdom Hearts had dimmed, that its light was being blocked in some way. Trusting her friends, Rinally turned her attention back to Riku and Sora, watching them fight as only Keyblade Masters could. They had a response for everything Ennio threw at them, dodging and attacking and weaving and defending around and for each other. It was as though the two of them knew exactly where the other would be before they even committed to a move. It was much how Rinally had seen Kaoru and Kai fight together, but Riku had a finer control over his movements while Sora was a little more wild, which was the complete opposite of Kaoru and Kai. They weren't gaining any ground with Ennio, but they were keeping him away from Kairi, Rinally, Tae, and Hiromu. That was all they really needed to do, leaving the two Princesses concentrating on keeping the Door from opening fully.

"Rin." Hiromu said, drawing her attention to a group of Heartless that were slowly moving towards them. "I'll take care of them."

"Don't get too far away."

Rinally cast several Protect, Shell, and Haste spells upon Hiromu, then returned her attention to Sora and Riku to throw healing spells their way, along with support spells to protect them from any of Ennio's attacks that got through their guard. She had to divide her attention between Sora and Riku and Hiromu, not daring to get too far away from Tae and Kairi. She kept glancing at the roiling sea of Heartless, biting her lower lip as the seconds ticked by.

 _Kaoru, Kai, please. Please come back._

oooo

He floated, weightless, in a sea of darkness. He watched memories float by before him, memories of his precious friends, of his life before the received his Keyblade, of his adventures afterward, of all the people he had met on worlds different from his own. He watched memories of himself and a redheaded boy, and he was sure there were supposed to be emotions to be felt, but for some reason, he had already forgotten how to feel them. He wasn't even sure who he was anymore. How long had he been in this darkness? Minutes? Days? He didn't know. What he did know was that he had come here willingly to save a friend, and what happened to him now didn't matter. Sooner or later, the Heartless would devour him, and then it would be up to those he had left behind to take up the fight. Would they fight? He hoped so. His theory that it would take a noble, unlooked-for sacrifice to open Kingdom Hearts had proven true. He was only glad that it had been him and not someone he loved.

The darkness around him shivered as if it was alive and cognizant of the creature of Light floating around him. It undulated like the waves of an ocean, carrying him deeper and deeper into Darkness. He wanted to close his eyes, to give in and just let the world go and rest at last. But his heart, the last place it seemed that Light lived in, continued to beat, to thrum with life.

"Kaoru!"

Kaoru? Oh, right. That was his name. But who was calling it? He looked up to see the redheaded boy from his memories falling toward him, clad in black armor with a cloak of sparkling dark motes that trailed behind him like a pair of silky wings. Kai. That was the redhead's name.

 _Kai. The person I love._

As if admitting that to himself was the key, Kaoru's memories began to return, and his exhausted body seemed to fill with energy. He remembered who he was. Remembered everything he had gone through, everything he had lost, everything he had gained over the course of his journey. The faces of his friends appeared to him, lending him the strength to stop his fall into oblivion and reach up toward Kai's outstretched hand.

Their fingers brushed, brushed again, and once more before Kai was able to get a grip on Kaoru's hand. He pulled him close and cocooned him within the darkness of his mote-like wings, staring deep into Kaoru's blue eyes.

"What the hell were you thinking?" growled Kai, pressing his forehead to Kaoru's.

"I was thinking I was saving my friend."

"Of course you were."

"You came after me."

Kai muttered a few curses. "Of _course_ I'd come after you. I told you, you're my Light, and no one else's, and I'm going to protect you. Even though I think you're a complete idiot for shoving yourself into an ocean full of Heartless."

"It was the only way." Kaoru protested.

"Ennio is going to have the power of Kingdom Hearts to use at his leisure! How is that the only way?"

"Because Rin will make sure he can't use it. The Princesses can close the Door from that side, but the Door also has to be closed from _this_ side." Kaoru said, holding tight to Kai. "As long as Ennio can't make an effort to pull on the power, we can close the Door."

"And what? Trap ourselves here?"

Kaoru smiled and shook his head. "We'll get out. Because we have connections on the other side, remember?"

Kai stared at Kaoru, studying his face with a skeptical look. "Will you ever tell me about your plans before you do crazy shit like this?"

In answer, Kaoru simply kissed Kai.

Kai grumbled but returned the kiss and pulled Kaoru closer. When they parted, he growled, "Let's go find that damn Door."

oooo

Rinally felt her heart skip a beat. She threw a Curaja spell Riku's way as he rebounded back toward Ennio after avoiding a thrust that would have torn more than just a slice along his side had he been a second slower, then tried to pinpoint the cause of her strange change in heartbeat. It had to be Kaoru and Kai. They had to be looking for the Door on the side of Darkness, seeking to close it from their side. Rinally couldn't be sure if the turn of events had been Kaoru's idea, but she couldn't very well argue with him or Kai right now. All she could do was trust them both to do what they needed to do. Her attention went back to Sora and Riku as the pair danced around Ennio, bobbing and weaving as they kept Ennio focused on them. It was clear to Rinally, though, that Sora and Riku were slowing down and getting tired, whereas Ennio still seemed to be full of energy. Though he was wounded and hurting and obviously slower than Riku and Sora, he was still able to swing his two black rods with enough force to send showers of sparks into the air when they connected with the Keyblades.

Tae's eyes flew open and her lips parted to form a small 'O'. Rin half turned toward her, afraid something terrible had happened, but found Kairi with much the same expression. Kairi was the first to recover, quickly rising to her feet. Destiny's Embrace materialized in her hand, and she raised the Keyblade up slightly, as if she was preparing to join Sora and Riku in their fight. Instead, though, she ran her hand down the length of Destiny's Embrace, and in response the floral Keyblade began to give off a diffuse pale glow. She swung the Keyblade up above her head then, and a refreshing headwind rushed past her, straight to Sora and Riku. Rinally watched as the two male Keyblade Masters seemed to gain a second wind, their fatigue slipping away almost instantly.

Rinally looked at Kairi then, asking, "What did you do?"

"I renewed their energy. It's my Keyblade's specialty. It's about all I can do right now. I'm still holding the Door shut on this side, and it's taking most of my concentration."

"The Door on the other side," Tae started, "do you think it's closing too?"

Kairi shrugged, and her eyes lifted to the sky. "With any luck, we'll find out soon."

Rinally followed Kairi's gaze to the sky, where the crystalline heart of Kingdom Hearts still hung in the sky, its light streaming down onto the cliff below. Hiromu rejoined them then, moving to stand close to Tae. He was spattered with Heartless goop, and his chest was heaving for breath, but he didn't look like he needed healing, if Rinally had anything to say about it. But she forced her gaze away from Hiromu and Tae and back to Sora and Riku.

"Do you think they can really shut the Door?" Rinally asked softly.

Kairi smiled. "If they're anything like Sora and Riku, they'll definitely be able to do it."

"And then they'll come back?"

"As long as you believe in your connection to them, definitely."

Rinally clutched tighter to Sorceress and focused on her bond, and watched Sora and Riku fight.

oooo

"Is this... it?" Kai asked.

Kaoru stood beside Kai and studied the large door that rose above them. It was plain and white, with no handles or keyholes, but it glowed with a brilliant white light. Along the edges of the door, a violet light pulsed, as if it was trying to escape into the void around them. Kaoru didn't say anything, but he reached up to touch the door, and recognized the Light that was infused within the material of the door itself. It was Tae's power, mingling with Kairi's. Leaving his hand on the Door, he turned to face Kai.

"This is it." he answered Kai at last. "Tae and Kairi are keeping the Door shut on the other side. If we close it from this side, then Kingdom Hearts should fade. Ennio's Darkness shouldn't be able to keep the Door active on its own anymore."

Kai stared at the Door, then at Kaoru. "Are you _sure_ this is it?"

Kaoru nodded. "I'm sure."

"So how do we close it?"

Kaoru turned back to the Door and put both his hands on the Door. "We push."

Kai muttered something dark and pithy, but moved up beside Kaoru and put his hands on the Door, wincing from the power of the Light that flowed through him. Kaoru's shoulders burned as he strained against the Door, struggling to push it closed. He was sure if he didn't have Kai helping him, it would never budge. As it was, the Door was starting to move centimeter by centimeter, as if some strong force was pushing back against them to keep the Door open. Kai let out an expletive and braced his shoulder against the material of the Door, his teeth bared as he shoved with all his might. Kaoru pushed, giving a yell of effort himself as he strained to push the Door shut. He sought Tae's Light, mingled as it was with Kairi's, and fought to grasp it with his own power.

"Put your hand over mine." Kai snarled, slapping his hand against the Door right in the middle of it. "We'll push together."

Kaoru obeyed, putting his hand over Kai's and curling his fingers between Kai's digits. Holding onto each other like that, Kaoru and Kai heaved against the ground they stood on to push with all their might on the Door. The Door inched shut, scraping against the ground as it grew closer and closer to the jamb. The closer they got, the more Kaoru could feel Tae's power and latch onto it. His power of Light mingled then with Tae's, almost like two magnets being drawn together. For a brief second, he felt her and Kairi, but then that feeling was gone, as if their connection had suddenly been cut off.

And then the Door slammed shut.

Jumping back, still holding each other's hands, Kaoru and Kai summoned their Keyblades and raised the weapons toward the Door. Light and Darkness gathered at the tips of Guardian and Sanctuary respectively, and twin beams of colored light shot toward the Door, twining with each other as the beams crossed the distance between the Keyblade Wielders and the Door to Kingdom Hearts. When the beams hit the Door, they exploded in a bright burst of colors, curling and spinning and whirling around the Door itself. Even before the display of colors faded, the Door itself began to glow bright, and as the colors began to disappear, so too did the Door become ghostly, slowly changing from something solid to something intangible before finally vanishing altogether.

Kaoru looked at Kai and grinned. Kai smirked in response.

Then, Darkness enclosed them.

oooo

"Look!" Tae cried, pointing to the sky.

Rinally followed her order and looked upwards, her own eyes going wide as she watched the light of Kingdom Hearts slowly extinguish. The crystalline structure itself was still present, but its glow was lessening in intensity, and one edge was beginning to eclipse in total and complete darkness. Relief flooded through her. Kaoru and Kai succeeded! They succeeded in closing the Door! Now they just had to escape wherever they were and return here.

A bestial roar of pure rage brought Rinally's attention away from the eclipsing Kingdom Hearts to Ennio. His skin was more cracked now than it had been before, revealing bits and pieces of roiling darkness beneath his flesh that wafted away from him in steaming tendrils. His eyes were pure gold, without any pupils. And they were focused on the two Princesses of Heart that stood nearby Rinally. Ennio let out another roar, and Rinally knew instantly that he had seen Kingdom Hearts vanishing, or felt it, or both. With a sharp sweep of both arms, a pulse of pressure erupted off his weapons and into Riku and Sora, flinging them backwards with herculean force. Then, without waiting to see if the two had actually fallen, Ennio charged toward Rinally and those with her, the stone of the cliff actually cracking beneath Ennio's feet as he came toward them.

Rinally stepped forward and changed her White Witch armor for her Black Witch armor. Hiromu was beside her a minute later, his Keyblade held ready for anything that Ennio might throw at them. Kairi retreated back a step with Tae, shielding the younger Princess with her own body and Destiny's Embrace. Rinally glanced up at Kingdom Hearts, then back at Ennio, who now seemed to be warping the air around him with whatever energy he was giving off, making the rock that exploded with each of his footfalls ripple and wriggle like it was more malleable than it really was. He seemed to know that Kingdom Hearts was eclipsing, and knew that his only chance of keeping the power for himself was to destroy whatever was holding the Door closed from this side, since he couldn't reach Kaoru and Kai. And that something was the two Princesses of Heart, who couldn't defend themselves because they were still using their power to keep the Door firmly locked from this side.

"You think we can beat him on our own?" Hiromu asked quietly, a note of fear making his voice tremble.

"We have to. Because we're on our own right now." Rinally responded. She set herself in a stance, and readied Sorceress, drawing upon her eldritch powers to start a Flare spell that, she hoped, would make Ennio stop.

She unleashed it before he got too close, but he bulled right through it, never stopping, never showing signs that the powerful spell even bothered to hurt him. He was forty feet away, thirty, twenty-five, and he swung back his arm in order to make his attack as lethal as possible. Rinally saw Hiromu move at the same time Ennio start to swing his arm back toward them, but neither of Hiromu nor Ennio got the chance to retaliate or attack, because at that moment, the ground rumbled like an earthquake had decided to make itself known. The mass of Heartless below the cliffs suddenly exploded upward like a fountain, sending Heartless flying in all directions and even onto the cliff, forcing Ennio to stop his charge and his attack and try to shield himself from the falling Heartless.

Kingdom Hearts became fully eclipsed and disappeared from sight.

Out of that falling fountain came a speeding bullet of black and white, moving so fast that it was impossible to tell who - or what - it was. But Rinally had seen that attack once before, and jumped into the air shouting, " _YEAH!_ ", with a grin on her face.

The bullet stopped abruptly after striking Ennio once, allowing a glimpse at Kaoru and Kai in their White and Black Knight modes, and then they were gone again, striking Ennio three more times. When they stopped on the fifth time, still holding onto each other, they thrust Guardian and Sanctuary toward Ennio's back, and the two Keyblades burst into bright light and deep darkness, the two colors twining together in that shimmering ribbon that shot toward Ennio. The man tried to retreat to avoid it, but the ribbon of light and darkness shot through him, twisted, and shot through him from the other side. It repeated that movement two more times before it rushed back toward Kaoru and Kai, enveloping them in a cocoon of white and black. Only then did they separate, facing each other, and the moment their Keyblades reappeared in their hands, they thrust the weapons toward each other, nearly striking each other's hearts. Instead, the power that surrounded them exploded outward, and Ennio was flung high into the air.

Kaoru and Kai hit the ground at the same time as the last vestiges of their attack dissipated into black and gold motes, and Kaoru turned to Rin, shouting, "Rin! Tempest!"

"Right! And I _told_ you Radiant Night was an awesome name for that!" She ran toward them even as Kaoru and Kai faced Ennio where he was suspended in the sky for a brief moment before gravity reclaimed its hold over him, and they drew back on their Keyblades. Then they threw their Keyblades toward Ennio as hard as they could. Rinally raised Sorceress and summoned to her all the energy she could gather. Electrical sparks jumped along her Keyblade, igniting into golden ribbons of energy that sparked and popped and jumped, snapping and sizzling in the air. She pointed her Keyblade at her friends' Keyblades and shouted, "THUNDAJA!"

The spell exploded off Sorceress with an earth-shattering _crack_ , and arcs of lightning raced through the air toward Guardian and Sanctuary. Just before it hit the two Keyblades, Rinally saw four other Keyblades sail through the air toward her spell, as if to intercept it. Instead, her spell hit Guardian first, which exploded into Cascade, and electrically-charged motes of Light burst into the air, coating Ennio and making him scream. Then her spell hit Sanctuary, and bright violet motes of shadow joined the prismatic light of Cascade, forming those electrically charged hailstones that pounded down with vicious intensity. Her Thundaja spell then jumped to Sora's Kingdom Key in its Ultima form, then to Riku's Way to Dawn, then to Kairi's Destiny's Embrace, and lastly to Hiromu's Keyblade, forming a jumping, sparking ring that enveloped Tempest and contained it in the sky. Within it, Ennio was completely cut off from escape, caught by the hailstones and the electricity that would not relent.

Ennio's cry fell quiet, though his mouth was still open in a pain-filled scream. His body jerked one way and then another, convulsing as Tempest tore through him. When the spell ended at last, Ennio hit the ground and lay still, his body smoking. He lifted his head slowly to stare at the seven Keyblade wielders before him and let out a hoarse laugh. It was the only sound he made before his head fell onto the stone and his body burst apart into tiny motes of darkness, leaving only a brilliant, gem-like heart floating above it. Then that heart, too, vanished.

"Kaoru!"

Kaoru turned to catch Tae in a tight hug, and when she stepped back, got a hug from Rinally, who then hugged Kai. Tae hugged Kaoru again tightly, and she whispered, "I thought I'd never see you again."

Kaoru smiled. "Don't worry. I wouldn't do that. And anyway, Kai wouldn't let me."

"What you did was stupid," Sora admonished when he reached them. Then he smiled. "But very brave. I knew you'd make a great Keyblade wielder, and you've proven it. You two saved Kingdom Hearts, and us."

"You told me ten years ago that I'd stand with you and Riku and Kairi, but I didn't think it would be like this." Kaoru replied, smiling a little wider.

"Um," Tae started, "do you think Ennio is really gone?"

Sora's smile faltered, but it was Riku who answered, "We won't know for sure, really. If his heart is strong enough, he may come back as someone else, or something else. But if he does, we'll be ready for it. Our duty is to maintain the balance between Light and Darkness and protect Kingdom Hearts, and we'll do so as many times as it takes."

"I'm sorry." Hiromu said, drawing everyone's attention to him. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't believed his lies..."

"Don't be sorry." Kairi said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone stumbles and falls. Everyone makes mistakes. But we can redeem ourselves by picking ourselves up and learning from those mistakes. If you had truly believed his lies, you never would have been able to continue wielding your Keyblade."

Hiromu seemed to relax at that, and even offered a smile, though it was a tiny one.

"We'd better go check on the others," Sora said, "and make sure the town is safe. That stunt you two pulled, Kaoru, scattered quite a bit of Heartless."

"Sorry." Kaoru replied in a tone that had a tinge of mirth to it.

No one made mention of it, but the eight of them each glanced to the sky to where Kingdom Hearts once had been, as if reassuring themselves that it truly had vanished. Only then did they race back to Radiant Garden proper, to make sure the scattered Heartless hadn't overwhelmed their companions or the populace.

When they were sure Radiant Garden was completely Heartless-free, and it was confirmed that there were no other Brotherhood members around, they all reconvened at Aerith's house, where they exchanged stories, described battles, and let Aerith and Yukari (who proudly claimed that Aerith let her help make the meal they were all about to eat) fill their plates and glasses. It wasn't quite a party, but it had the feel of one, and it allowed them all to relax and rest their souls.

"Do you think our worlds have been restored now?" Tae asked.

"Close your eyes," Kairi started, "and reach out to your world. Can you feel Paradise City?"

Tae obeyed, but said nothing, and a moment later a bright smile bloomed on her face. When her eyes opened, she looked at both Hiromu and Kaoru, and looked about to cry.

"Should we go home?" Kaoru asked.

Tae nodded. "Let's go home."


	67. Chapter 67

Epilogue - Paradise City

Kaoru stood outside the large brick building that housed the gummi ship terminal and stared down at the tops of his shoes. As a shadow fell over him, he looked up to see Kai approaching, holding two bottles of water in his hands. The redhead had his hair swept up in a ponytail, which swayed with each step. He wore it that way today because today was special.

Kaoru smiled as he accepted his bottle of water, which was followed by a quick kiss, before Kai leaned against the building beside Kaoru.

After stopping Ennio from obtaining the powers of Kingdom Hearts, each of them had returned to their own worlds, finding them intact and exactly as they were before the worlds had been destroyed. No one had memories of the day the Heartless first attacked, nor of Kaoru and his Keyblade, or of anything that happened after. The Sky Islands had been in much the same state, and the only people who remembered anything were Rinally and Yukari, who had grown closer, which surprised their parents at Rinally's sudden change in attitude toward her sister.

Kai had returned to Lumina Cross briefly, but had chafed at the fact he was alone on that world, and without his Light. So he had traveled to Paradise City in order to be with Kaoru, and hadn't quite left. Kaoru's mother had been surprised when he asked her if Kai could live with them, but she agreed, which she had done only after finding out Kai's parents were dead and he really had no where else to go. If she realized their relationship was more than friends, she didn't mention it, and Kaoru didn't offer up the information, especially since he couldn't tell her that they were Keyblade wielders and would have to disappear at a moment's notice if a world needed them.

Today was the start of summer vacation, which meant that a whole new adventure was starting for all of them.

He could hardly believe it had been a year since that day, since he had first received Guardian and gone on that wild adventure. A year since he had seen and experienced everything he had.

"They're late," Kai growled.

Kaoru smiled at him. "It's okay. We told them the wrong time on purpose, remember? Tae's always late. Especially now, because she wants to look pretty for Hiromu."

"You know he doesn't give a crap what she looks like."

"You can tell her that, and I'll stand out of kicking distance."

Kai scoffed, but he shifted uncomfortably.

"Besides," Kaoru continued, "we have to wait for Rinally anyway. She had to make sure Yukari got off to her summer camp okay, and her ship isn't due to arrive for another ten minutes."

"I don't know why Riku won't let me just use a Pathway. It'd be faster." Kai grumbled.

"Because you'd have to bring Tae, and she can't travel on the Paths yet. Kairi hasn't taught her how to shield herself."

"Just shut up, Kaoru."

Kaoru leaned in toward Kai and pressed a kiss to his cheek in apology. Kai accepted it with a grumble and his eyes went to scan the street leading up to the gummy ship terminal, watching for the arrival of Tae and Hiromu like a hawk.

It didn't take them long to appear. They walked together, holding hands. The necklace Kaoru had given Tae on her birthday last year glimmered around her throat. Hiromu walked with a confident step, a pleased smile on his face. This year, Kaoru hadn't gotten Tae a present for her birthday, because everyone but Tae knew there was one waiting for her on Radiant Garden. It was a pleasant surprise for all of them, though it was mostly in Tae's honor, because it _was_ her birthday, and thanks to Kairi, they would have a huge party when they arrived. It was another reason Kaoru was stressing patience to Kai, because he didn't want to arrive too early and spoil her surprise party.

"Kaoru!" Tae called, waving her hand. She released Hiromu's hand to run to Kaoru, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. She released him and hugged Kai, who allowed it but clearly seemed uncomfortable by it. "Hi, Kai."

"Tae." Kai said, doing his best to keep his voice calm and even.

She released him and took hold of Hiromu's hand again. "This is so exciting! I can't wait to start my training as a Princess."

"I'm just happy that Sora and Riku agreed to train me along with you." Hiromu said.

"You're a Keyblade wielder. Of course you'd get trained along with us." Kaoru replied.

"Is Rin here yet?" Tae asked. "There's so much I want to talk to her about. We've been exchanging letters, but it isn't the same. And I still haven't figured out that one math problem, and I want to see if she has any insight."

Hiromu raised an eyebrow. "You really started all your summer work already?"

Tae nodded. "Of course! And everyone should have brought theirs! Because you know they're going to make us do it."

"Don't worry, Tae." Kaoru said. "I made sure to pack everything we might possibly need while we're there all summer."

"Oh, good."

As a chime pealed, Kaoru looked up at the billboard that constantly rotated to show the arrivals and departures of the gummi ship. One of the placards flipped itself over to read 'Sky Islands', and before she had even departed the ship, Kaoru could feel that Rinally had finally arrived. Kai could too, for he pushed away from the building and picked up his and Kaoru's backpacks from where they rested by their feet.

"Time to go." he said, throwing the packs over his shoulder.

Kai led the way into the gummi ship station, where they were met by Rinally. She had shortened her pink hair to just below her earlobes, and she still wore her customary diamond barrettes. Rinally smiled brightly as she saw everyone and hugged them all tightly.

"I'm so happy to see you all again!" Rinally said, her voice ringing with happiness.

"I'll remind you of that when we get to Radiant Garden," Hiromu replied jokingly.

"Come on!" Tae called. "I don't want to be late!"

Rinally smiled widely and fell into step beside Tae, the two girls falling easily into a conversation and laughing with each other. Hiromu trailed behind them, watching his girlfriend with an easy, confident smile. Kaoru and Kai brought up the rear, both of them sharing the same small relaxed smile.

This summer, they were spending it training under Sora, Riku, and Kairi's watchful eyes, learning what it meant to really be a Keyblade wielder, and learning what it would take to become a Keyblade Master. This summer, they wouldn't be running from world to world to save them or stop something bad from happening.

"Oh yeah," Rinally said as they settled into their seats on the gummi ship that would take them to Radiant Garden. She pulled out a sheaf of paper and showed it to all of them. "I got this in the mail yesterday. It's from Sora."

"What's it say?" Hiromu asked.

Reading aloud over Rinally's shoulder, Kaoru said, "'Hey, everyone, hope you're doing well. You're probably already on your way to Radiant Garden, so here's hoping this letter reaches you. When you get here, go straight to Aerith's house. Drop your stuff off and meet up with Terra. He'll bring you to where we are. Sorry, I know you guys were hoping for some one on one training, but it looks like you'll be getting field training. Oh, and happy birthday, Tae.'"

The four Keyblade wielders and one Princess of Heart glanced at each other, then back to Sora's letter, and then back at each other.

"Looks like the work of a Keyblade wielder is never done." Kaoru said.

Silence reigned for a minute before laughter broke out amongst the group of teenagers. They had definitely been expecting a new adventure, but they hadn't expected one to arrive so quickly, and to be so different from what they had been expecting. But, Kaoru supposed, his life was going to be one big adventure, and this time, he had his friends to share it with.

fin


End file.
